Hoth Encounter
by LPK9
Summary: Hoth is not as devoid of sentient life as anticipated. AU 16 months after the destruction of the Death Star.
1. Chapter 1

_Cockpit_

_Millennium Falcon_

_In orbit around Hoth_

"It is insanely cold down there," Han Solo stated irritably. "Ridiculously cold. This is a total waste of time."

Leia Organa shot the captain of the _Millennium Falcon_ a thoroughly frosty look, "It's hardly a waste of your time, Captain, as the Alliance is paying you handsomely."

"Yeah, your Highnessness," Solo replied with a cocky grin, "but couldn't we have checked out a planet with lots of beaches? Or ones with lofty but green mountains? Or even a fine gambling planet? Why Hoth, of all places?"

"Alliance Command needs a place where the Empire won't come looking for us, Han," Leia replied tartly. "Most beach planets are very heavily populated, and we can't exactly hide out where vagrant gamblers are roaming the slimy and seedy alleyways of major cities. I admit the temperatures of Hoth are intimidating but we could probably hide here for some time."

Solo twisted his face into a scowl and grumbled, "I'd still like to see you hide in plain sight on a beach somewhere … and I don't get the concern, Leia, I really don't. The Emperor is dead. Isard is trying to hold things together but even I know that the Empire is fracturing. Why not just hide out in space for a few months, moving frequently, until the whole thing falls apart? Why even consider settling here on a giant ice cube?"

"Han, you know why," Leia said with a quick glance at Luke Skywalker, who had thus far remained silent, his gaze fixed on the frozen wasteland through the _Falcon'_s front viewscreen.

"No, I don't," Solo replied irritably. "Look, I know that Vader put you through the ringer on the Death Star and I wish I could rip him to pieces myself, but since he has disappeared, doesn't that mean he's probably dead too? There has been so much upheaval since Palpatine died four months ago. Lots of high level people have been assassinated. Why not Vader too?"

"Because he's Vader," Luke said gravely, speaking up for the first time. "Han, he killed old Ben Kenobi. He killed my father, a Jedi Knight. Ysanne Isard, and Sate Pestage, and any one of those slimy politicians and hangers on might try to kill him, but they would fail. No, he's alive out there somewhere doing something, probably pulling together a task force to take over the Empire. It kind of makes sense, really – let Isard and Pestage duke it out, then sweep in when the sand settles."

Leia frowned at this.

"It makes some sense, but I confess I am quite puzzled," she confessed. "He was the natural successor to Palpatine. The man died of mysterious but apparently natural causes, and Vader disappears instead of being crowned emperor? I don't think many would have been foolish enough to openly challenge him. I really don't get it, I don't. But I do agree, Luke, that he's out there somewhere, doing something nefarious and the Alliance needs to find a safe base."

Han groaned again, but nodded, "Fine, I'm going to bring the _Falcon_ in closer and we'll scan the quadrant Rieekan suggested. Hard to believe any area of this planet is better than any other, but I guess there are marginally higher temperatures in this quadrant."

"The planet has a tilt," Leia commented, frowning at the approaching whitescape, "so the equatorial regions will be the most likely to allow sustained sentient life. And some longitudes have high mountain ranges."

The crew lapsed into silence as the ship grew closer to the planet, and Luke Skywalker gazed in awe.

He had grown up on a planet with twin suns, with sand as far as the eye could see, with sentients who lived and died in broiling heat and struggled with lack of water. It was bizarre to consider a planet which was so cold that all of the natural and abundant moisture was frozen. He had seen snow since he'd joined the Alliance, but never anything which compared to the bleak landscape of Hoth.

But more than his incredulity at the climate was a deeper unease. He had been drawn to this mission, had even convinced Leia to take this mission, because he'd been having dreams of an ice world. A world like Hoth. A world that _was_ Hoth.

Why was that? Was the Force telling him that this was the best place for the Alliance to hide while the galaxy twisted in the throes of disarray and confusion after Emperor Palpatine's death?

A roar from Chewbacca distracted him from his thoughts, and he and Leia glanced at Han for translation.

"No way, Chewie!" Solo said indignantly. "Only a fool, or the Rebellion would consider …"

The giant Wookiee howled again and pointed indignantly at a nearby scanner. Solo lowered his brows in confusion, slapped the scanner in question, stared again, then nodded, "Ok, Chewie, you're right. We're picking something up."

"Something like what?" Luke demanded nervously.

The Corellian shook his head slowly even as he fine tuned something on the Falcon's confusing array of electronics.

"Some kind of technology, Kid," he explained absently. "We're not close enough to figure out anything more but yeah, not biological. Maybe … I don't know, pirates? Smugglers?"

Leia bit her lip, "Is it safe to get closer, do you think?"

"Course it is, Leia," Solo responded in a rather offended tone. "She's fast. If someone scrambles after us we'll be out of here and in hyperspace before they can do any damage."

The woman took a deep breath and nodded, "Ok, let's get closer. But anything looks ugly, we get out of here. I agree with you that Hoth isn't very hospitable, and I don't want us to get killed by some trigger happy band of smugglers."

"Smugglers _can_ be pretty trigger happy," Luke said a straight face, earning him an irritated glare from Solo.

The next two minutes were quiet as they honed in on the signal. It was, thankfully, a relatively good weather day on Hoth in that there was neither snow nor substantial wind in this sector. Solo dropped the_ Falcon_ lower and lower until …

Something came in sight. All four residents of the cockpit leaned forward slightly to frown at the images before their eyes sent puzzled glances at the sensors.

"What is that?" Luke demanded.

Han shook is head, "Shield array? Sensor array? Something. It's hard to tell."

"Imperial?" Leia asked worriedly.

Chewbacca roared and Han sighed, "Not … not clearly. I mean, it's not an Imperial installation, for sure. Too small. You know the Empire; everywhere they go, they build like crazy. Whoever these people are, it's a small operation and that doesn't sound like the Empire. But they might be, probably are, unfriendly."

"That sounds like a negative statement," Luke said lightly.

"In my experience, Kid, most people are unfriendly in this galaxy. Any sentients crazy enough to settle here have a decent reason. They are trying to get away from it all."

"Look, a cave!" Luke exclaimed, pointing to the east. Sure enough, there was a cave near the outer arrays, and he thought he caught a quick glimpse of something large and pale inside the cave.

The ship had, by this time, flown over the mysterious array of electronics and was drawing away rapidly.

"So do we leave?" Leia asked practically. "What are your thoughts, everyone?"

Han shrugged even as his fingers moved gently around the cockpit, continuing scans, "Up to you, Princess. Looks like a tiny operation, maybe a few people at the most. I suspect they won't be glad to see us, but I don't see any readings for major weaponry. And if they are even moderately friendly, they might give us valuable intel about the planet. A lot of people will cough up information for a few credits."

"I think we should check it out," Luke stated. He didn't know why, but he had this feeling, again, of being drawn.

There was a pause, and Leia closed her eyes for a long moment.

"Ok, let's see who these people are," she said.

It took about three minutes for Han to turn the _Falcon_ around, approach the small installation again, and then settle the ship down on a well packed, flat area of snow about 100 meters from the entrance to the cave. The temperature was ridiculously cold so all but Chewbacca donned warm coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and boots before venturing down the ramp and onto the wind swept snowfield.

"This is crazy," Luke said quietly, his left and right hands ready to grasp blaster, lightsaber, or both as needed. "I've never imagined a place so ridiculously _cold_!"

"A far cry from Tatooine, for sure," Solo replied, his brown eyes focused on the cave nearby. This was, he admitted to himself, a bit on the odd side. Who were these people?

Leia, on the other hand, felt a strange excitement. She had a feeling about this place, that this was going to be the answer for … she didn't know. The Alliance, no doubt. It couldn't have any personal significance. Nevertheless, she had a good feeling, a very good feeling, that they were going to obtain valuable information from whomever lived here.

They entered the cave cautiously, blasters in hand, then stopped in astonishment. The snow cavern, which had clearly been enlarged artificially, was a landing bay, and the ship resting demurely on the snowy floor was gorgeous – silver, pristine, smooth of line, beautiful.

Han grunted in surprise, "Nice ship. Whoever these people are, they've got some class. And credits."

"So what do we do?" Luke inquired practically. "Knock?"

The ramp to the ship made a slight sound, and all four Rebels stiffened and watched carefully as it lowered carefully to the floor of the bay.

"That looks like an invitation, huh?" Solo asked.

"Yes, it does," Leia replied uneasily. "I wish the occupants would come down though."

"It's cold," Luke replied practically, "even in here. Maybe they don't want to get all suited up."

The princess sighed and then strode forward with determination. The ship, up close, was even more amazing to behold. There were no nicks or scratches, no parts that looked like they had been scavenged from a Tatooine junkyard. Compared to the _Millennium Falcon_, this ship was like royalty. Han frowned. This situation was definitely odd.

At the top of the ramp, Leia tightened her grip on her blaster and stepped into the ship, with Luke behind her, Han behind him, and Chewbacca bringing up the rear.

"Greetings!" she called out as she stepped into what was no doubt the main cabin of the ship. It was, aside from couches, tables, and a shut down astromech droid in the corner, empty.

There was silence, and she shook her head.

"I have a bad feeling about this," she muttered.

Luke suddenly did too. There was this weird feeling of Darkness, coming out nowhere …

"Let's get out of here," he said, whirling around toward the door just as …

Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, stepped out of a side corridor and blocked their way.

"I am honored," the cyborg stated coldly, "that you could join me."

Sixty seconds later, the four Rebels were on the floor, unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

_Weird Nice Ship_

_Hoth_

_20 minutes later_

"Luke," a familiar feminine voice stated worriedly. "Luke!"

Luke Skywalker groaned and muttered and groaned some more. Ugh, ouch. His head hurt. His leg hurt. Things generally just hurt. He really wanted to sleep.

"Come on, Kid," Han Solo said, shaking the youth's arm. "Wake up. You gotta wake up!"

Luke forced his eyes open and gazed in bewilderment for a long moment. He was lying on a bed, and Leia and Han were staring at him, and …

He sat up so suddenly his head began throbbing in protest, "Did … was that …"

He couldn't finish the sentence, but Leia nodded grimly, "Yes, Vader's here."

"What in all the sandblasted grottos of the Jundland Wastes is Vader doing here?" Luke yelped indignantly, going for anger over fear. "This is crazy!"

Leia's face was drawn with worry, but she managed an indignant snarl, "It was a set up, no doubt, though how he drew us here, I don't know."

Luke looked around rather hopelessly. The four of them were in what appeared to be a bedroom, with one comfortable bed, on which he was lying, a refresher in the corner, a small table, a tiny kitchen complete with cooling unit, and soft lights. On the floor, near the refresher, Chewbacca lay apparently unconscious.

The youth jerked slightly in concern, "Is Chewie Ok?"

Han sighed and walked over to nudge the giant Wookiee with his right boot, "Looks like he got stunned a couple of times instead of once, or he's drugged or something. He's breathing fine and there are no wounds, but he isn't waking up."

Luke groaned, rose to his feet, and took off his coat and threw it on the bed. What had happened? He knew he had felt a pull to Hoth, only to discover that Vader was here? Had he somehow been deceived by the Dark Side?

The door to the cabin slid open and Darth Vader strode in, two meters of imposing black armor with his dramatic cape flowing regally behind him. At his waist were two lightsabers, his own and Luke's, and he casually held Han's blaster in his left hand.

In spite of himself, Luke took a tiny step back. He hated this man, hated him for murdering his father and for destroying old Ben, but up close the man was huge and intimidating and Luke wasn't even trained in the Force. Han moved to stand protectively in front of his sleeping co-pilot. Leia, on the other hand, took a brave shuffle forward.

"What do you want, Vader?" she demanded, her chin lifted to stare directly into that blank mask.

The Dark Lord was silent for a moment, his own gaze focused solely on Luke.

"I want," the deep voice stated finally, "indeed, all that I require, is that young Skywalker leave the Rebel Alliance."

There was a pause and Luke managed to access his inner snarkiness, "Like, through death?"

The great head shook negatively.

"No harm will come to you," the behemoth stated with what might be construed, for him, as a gentle tone, "but you must not return to the Rebellion."

Luke just blinked at him for a long moment, even as Leia huffed.

"Don't be absurd, Vader," she snapped. "You want us all dead."

"Princess Leia," Vader responded, finally turning to look at her. "Your existence or lack thereof is of no concern to me. The same is true for your smuggler compatriot and his co-pilot. You have my blessing to depart immediately in that dilapidated object you call a ship if you can succeed in lifting off, which is, given its pathetic state, rather unlikely."

"Hey, your Lordship," Han began indignantly, only to be interrupted by Luke.

"Listen to me, Vader," the nascent Force user snapped. "I will never leave the Alliance until the Empire falls, until democracy is reinstated, until the Republic is restored."

The gauntleted right hand waved imperiously, "You are foolish, young one, to imagine that the Republic was a bastion of righteousness. It was mired in corruption and incompetency. Whatever rises from the ashes of the Empire will no doubt be as inept as the Republic, but it matters not. You, young Skywalker, will be kept safe, whether you appreciate it or not, whether you want it or not. Your continued survival is my sole priority now."

"Why do you care what happens to me?" Luke replied incredulously. "You murdered my father, you killed Ben Kenobi – you have to want me dead too!"

Vader took a quick step forward, "Who told you that I murdered your father?"

Luke's eyes widened in disbelief, "Ben did, that's who! What, you're going to deny it? Even on Tatooine I knew you were the Empire's enforcer, and I know a lot more now. It wasn't like Anakin Skywalker was the only Jedi you murdered – you've laid waste to entire civilizations as Palpatine's right hand … man, or machine, or whatever you are."

There was a long pause that followed this impassioned statement, and Luke realized, rather late, that he was running off his mouth at Darth Vader himself, who held two lightsabers and Han's blaster.

But the Sith merely stood stock still, staring at him, immovable.

"Vader," Leia said, drawing the cyborg's attention to herself, "you've been devoted to the Empire for decades. Do you really imagine we believe you'd just turn your back on the whole government and let it fall into disarray?"

"I was … devoted, as you put it, to Emperor Palpatine," Vader hissed. "He is dead now."

"So the old man keels over from old age and you just decided you were done?" Han asked skeptically. The Corellian nudged Chewbacca gently with his foot again, and was relieved when his co-pilot stirred slightly.

There was a bona fide snort from the Dark Lord's vocoder, "Palpatine did not 'keel over' as you put it_. I_ killed him."

All three conscious Rebels sucked in astonished breaths.

"You killed him!?" Leia asked incredulously.

"Certainly," Vader returned, taking a step back and glancing out the window briefly. He apparently saw nothing of interest, as he quickly turned his attention back to Luke.

"I saw the reports, the _actual _reports, not what was released to the media," the princess replied indignantly. "He had pneumonia or something and died from it."

"And I tell you that Sheev Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious, was far too powerful to die of pneumonia," Vader rasped back. "He was foolishly addicted to smoking Shento cigars and contracted pneumonia, on average, twice a year. Each time, he spent the night in the hyperbaric chamber, took the necessary medications and sleeping aids, and recovered easily. But this time, I killed him."

There was a soft growl from Chewbacca and Han reached over to pat his co-pilot gently on the leg, "You Ok, Buddy?"

The giant Wookiee managed to sit up and lean his hairy body against the wall, even as he grunted affirmatively.

"How did you kill the Emperor?" Luke asked skeptically.

Vader took a step back, then began pacing, his hands locked behind his back, "Very subtly. He expected me to try to assassinate him, of course – each Master Sith Lord expects his apprentice to kill him or at least attempt to do so. But he no doubt expected a lightsaber to the chest, or that I would drop a ceiling on him."

"So…?" Luke prompted.

The black monolith shrugged slightly, "I hacked into the droid controlling his hyperbaric chamber. The droid had previous instructions to increase the pressure in the chamber to 2 normal atmospheres so that more oxygen would be forced into his aging lungs, thus promoting healing. I successfully programmed the droid to slowly increase to 6 atmospheres of breathing gases over the course of the night, while also increasing the nitrogen to oxygen ratio. In addition, I bypassed the safety protocols which would disallow such actions. The change was sufficiently gradual that Palpatine slept peacefully until 0500 hours, when the droid dropped the chamber pressure to one atmosphere. The excess nitrogen in the Emperor's blood came out of solution to form air bubbles, which caused embolisms in his heart and brain, killing him."

Luke blinked in astonishment. He hated Vader, hated what he'd done to his father, to Kenobi, to Leia, to Alderaan, but he had to admit …

"That's really smart," he said in awe.

Vader shot him what might have been a pleased look, even as Solo spoke up, "Like really bad bends, right? That's what they call that? Deep sea divers have to worry about excess nitrogen?"

This time, the Sith sounded surprised, "Indeed, Captain Solo, that is correct."

"So you killed Palpatine, which I applaud," Leia said irascibly, "and then decided to, what, come here and wait for us? Why not just take over the Empire right away?"

Again, a huff of irritation, "As I said, Princess, I have no further interest in the Empire. I have killed Palpatine, which I should have done 20 years ago. As for waiting here for you, your arrival was a complete surprise, but clearly it was the destiny of the Force to bring us together."

"If so," Solo said snarkily, "the Force has amazingly bad taste."

Vader took a menacing step towards the smuggler, and Luke spoke quickly, "Why should you have killed the Emperor 20 years ago?"

There was a pause, and the great shoulders slumped even as the cyborg walked slowly over the window to again look out, presumably at the wall of the cave.

"He told me," the bass voice ground out. "He assured me, he _convinced_ me that I had … I had killed her. Even though I felt her. I felt that she was alive!"

"Her?" Leia asked blankly.

"My wife."

There was three gasps and a surprised howl at these words.

"You were married!?" Luke demanded in disbelief. Who would marry Vader? The man was a mess physically, along with being mean and evil.

"Of course we were married," the Sith responded angrily. "I was not one to … engage in casual intimacy and certainly she would never do such a thing as to, er, be involved in an illicit relationship."

"And Palpatine told you that you killed her?" Leia clarified. She looked at the massive Dark Lord with the barest hint of sympathy. She had suffered greatly at his hands. He'd tortured her for hours and held her back as the Death Star destroyed Alderaan, but she admitted that this was pretty vicious of the Emperor, to lie about something like that.

Unless …

"How do you know you didn't kill her?" she demanded. It wasn't impossible given Vader's homicidal propensities.

"Because the child lived, of course," Vader responded, turning his dark stare on her.

"Child?""

"She was pregnant and I was told that I … that I murdered her, and the child with her. If I had killed her, the child would have died in her womb. Once I realized that my son lived, I realized Palpatine had lied to me, he manipulated me, he used me, he convinced me that I had … I had …"

The ship actually began shaking, clearly in the throes of Vader's distress, and Luke glanced around in alarm.

"You have a kid!?" Solo demanded.

The shaking stopped, and Vader turned directly towards Luke, "Yes."

There was a heartstopping moment, and Luke gulped and took a step back.

"No," he whispered.

"Yes, my son," Vader said gravely. "I am your father."

/-

_Author Note: I am always trying to come up with new ways to kill Palpatine, whom I loathe quite thoroughly. This one was based on the tragic deaths of Chris and Chrissy Rouse, a father and son diving team who were killed during a dive to a sub off the coast of New Jersey in 1992. Sad story, though strangely fascinating to me._


	3. Chapter 3

_Living Quarters_

_Weird Nice Ship_

_Hoth Cave_

Luke sat on the bed, hyperventilating.

"Put your head between your knees, Kid," Solo ordered. "Breathe slowly. You're Ok. Just take it easy."

"He said …," Luke gasped. "He said …"

"We heard him," Leia snarled, her eyes blazing with fury, "but he is lying, Luke. It's just a trick. Don't believe him."

Vader strode forward to loom over the diminutive princess, and this time his tone was as cold as the night air of Hoth, "Do not push me verbally, Princess Leia. I have no desire to distress my son, but you will not accuse me of lying about the most important thing in my life or you will face permanent consequences. My wife was pregnant, I had visions of her death in childbirth, and Palpatine promised to help me save her if I pledged myself to him and the Dark Side of the Force. I was once Anakin Skywalker, and Luke _is my son_."

Leia opened her mouth again but Han leaped to his feet and quickly but gently put his hand over her mouth, "Don't, Leia. No point in getting killed."

The woman pushed Solo's hand away but kept her mouth shut, aware that she was treading on volatile ground with the man who was in the galactic dictionary under "DANGEROUS".

Luke pulled himself together with difficulty and rose shakily to his feet.

"Han's right, Leia," he rasped out, keeping his eye on Vader. The cyborg, in return, was staring straight at him. Indeed, Luke realized dismally, the Sith had been staring at him at least 90% of the time since the man had walked in the room.

"What was her name?" the youth asked quietly. "My mother's, I mean."

A pause.

"Padme."

The tone was reverent, even through the vocoder.

Luke stared blankly, then nodded, "That's a nice name."

Now Vader took a cautious step forward, "You … you truly did not know? I assumed you were testing me."

Luke ran a hand through his hair, noting that he was shaking slightly, "I … I don't know my mother's name, no. My … my aunt and uncle didn't know and I forgot to ask Old Ben about it. Not that we had much time together, what with you murdering him and all."

"It was a fair fight, young one," the Sith responded acerbically, "so even with your rather narrow view of morality, I would argue you could hardly call it murder."

The young man nodded even as he lowered his eyes to the floor. He remembered Obi-Wan's last look at him on the Death Star, when the old man had smiled slightly and lifted his lightsaber up, allowing the Sith Lord to strike him down. Was this why Kenobi had allowed Vader to kill him, so that Luke would run to the _Falcon_ and escape? Escape from his _father_?

He felt sick.

He bit his lip, then continued with difficulty, "So, you say … you say that you were once Anakin Skywalker, that you are my father. I … I really can't believe that. Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi Knight, a champion of the oppressed. Why would …?"

He trailed off and for a long minute, the only sound was the repeated hiss of Vader's respirator.

"Wait a minute," Luke continued suddenly, looking up, "you said Palpatine told you that you killed my mother. What made you think you could have killed her?"

Vader stood still for another long minute, then fisted his hands so hard that that leather creaked ominously.

"You … you deserve to know. Your mother followed me to Mustafar, where I destroyed the Separatist leaders at Palpatine's command. Kenobi was on board her ship, whether with Padme's permission or not, I do not know. Padme and I argued over the path I was taking. I was convinced that only through the power of the Dark Side could she be saved. She refused to follow me, she said that I was breaking her heart …"

Again a pause, and then the deep voice continued, "Kenobi appeared at the top of the ramp of Padme's ship. I was certain, in that moment, that she had betrayed me and brought Obi-Wan there to kill me. I choked her with the Force, and she lost consciousness. I then fought Kenobi until he defeated me and left me to burn in the lava flows of that volcanic planet. Palpatine raced to my side and brought me back to Imperial Center, then Coruscant, where I was placed in this life support suit. When I regained consciousness, he told me I had killed her."

Luke was pale now. Could this be true? Could his father really have done such terrible things not only to Separatists but his own pregnant wife? Vader seemed genuine, but Sith Lords weren't necessarily the most stable of people. Was this all some dreadful nightmare of Vader's? Or a memory of some other woman who had in fact died with his child?

"So your wife thought you were wrong," Leia stated coldly.

The great mask turned on her now, "Yes. She was very strong willed, a Galactic Senator from Naboo devoted to democracy and the Republic. But the Clone Wars had been dragging on for years at this point, with clones and Jedi dying for the sake of myriad governments who argued and debated while those on ground, air, and space fought and perished."

He was pacing now, "I trusted Palpatine! He was chancellor and longed for peace as I did, peace to live a life with my wife, with my child …"

The tone changed now, to one of somber misery, "I believed he longed for peace, and I believed he truly wanted to save my wife. But it was all lies. He was using me, and his assurances that I had murdered my wife left me with Palpatine alone to serve. And I _was_ his servant, and his slave, for twenty years until I learned that my son lived. From that moment, once I knew of your survival, my son, I thought only to destroy Palpatine and to find and keep you safe."

Luke stared at the man wide eyed, his face blank. He wasn't sure what to even think. He felt numb from … what, horror? Sympathy for this vicious tyrant who had tortured Leia, who had let Tarkin destroy an entire planet?

"Wait," Leia said suddenly. "Your wife was named Padme? And she was a galactic senator?"

Vader turned to look at her, "Yes."

"As in, Padme Naberrie Amidala?" Leia continued accusingly.

"Yes," Vader repeated, sounding vaguely puzzled.

Leia took a deep breath, and her expression was one of outraged triumph, "Then you are lying, or delusional, Lord Vader. Padme Amidala was not your wife and Luke is not your son!"

"Do not test me, Princess," the Sith seethed, lifting one hand in outrage.

"Why, Leia?" Luke demanded, even as he flung himself in front of Vader in a probably hopeless attempt to distract him.

"Because Padme Naberrie Amidama of Naboo was _my_ biological mother!" Leia proclaimed fiercely.

A pause, the moment between lightning and crashing thunder...

"What?!" Luke, Han, and Vader exclaimed simultaneously.

Leia stood to her full diminutive height and turned to Skywalker.

"Luke, listen to me. He's lying. My mother Breha Organa wasn't able to have children, so I was adopted by the Organas as a newborn. I always knew I was adopted, and of course I was curious …"

She trailed away now and looked at the floor for a long moment, then wiped both eyes surreptitiously.

"Anyway, I asked the Organas, of course, about my biological parents. Bail told me that he didn't know who my father was, but that my mother was a family friend who had died in childbirth. He would not tell me her name because, he said, it was dangerous. By the time I was 11 or 12, I figured she'd run afoul of Palpatine or the Empire some way and that was why he wouldn't tell me."

She heaved a sigh and began speaking more slowly, "When I was 13, my annual medical exam showed something odd, I don't even know what, and the med droid wanted my maternal medical history. My parents looked at each other and I knew, just knew, that if I could just overhear what they were saying I would find out more about my mother."

"You spied on them?" Luke asked in surprise.

She managed a rather feeble smile, "Yes, I did. I beat them back to Father's office and hid behind a couch where I used to take my baby felinx when I was only six years old. Sure enough, I heard the whole thing. My mother was Padme Naberrie of Naboo. She was a senatorial colleague of my father's and had died at the beginning of the Galactic Empire giving birth to me. My parents pulled up med records on the Naberrie family and the potential medical problem wasn't in the family line."

The princess turned now, and her teeth actually bared in a thoroughly feral way, "So, Vader is lying. _I_ am Padme's daughter, I am the one born to her and she … she died giving birth to me."

There was a long silence.

Vader stared at Leia as if he had never seen her before.

Luke also gazed at his dear friend, his dear dear friend. He was missing something …

Han put a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder, "Leia?"

She shot him a semi-irritated glance, "What?"

"Leia, when is your Life Day?"

She frowned now, "Like right around the original Empire Day of all things. Thoroughly loathsome time to be born."

Luke wobbled slightly, and there was a distant ring in his ears.

"What is it, Luke?" she demanded in bewilderment.

"Leia, that's my Life Day too," he responded softly, his blue eyes meeting her brown ones.

"What, like we're twins or something?" she replied, scoffing, "That's ridiculous."

A pause.

Vader's mask was now turned on Leia.

"Padme was certain," the deep voice stated softly, "that the child was a boy. And I was equally certain the child was a girl."

Leia's eyes widened in disbelief, "Luke and I are not twins."

"Leia!" Luke exclaimed, reaching out to catch her hands with his own larger ones. "Do you know the very first thought I had when I saw R2 project your image in your message to Obi-Wan?"

Mutely, she shook her head.

Luke blushed a little and admitted, "Well, my first thought was that you were the most gorgeous woman I'd ever seen in my life. But my second thought, really, was that I had to help you. Leia, I've always had a connection with you. The moment I saw you in real life, in that cell on the Death Star, even after you gratuitously insulted me, I felt a connection."

"You looked like a lost anooba," Leia replied, smiling tremulously. "I seriously thought you and Han were insane. And you had to be insane to come blasting in there without a plan for getting out. Though …"

She stared at her friend's face, "I felt connected to you too, Luke. But seriously, we can't be twins. Because that would mean …"

She trailed away and Luke, after shooting a quick glance at a _very _silent Vader, tightened his grip on her hands, "So maybe it is true and he is our father. We'll cope with it. If I can get a wonderful sister out of it, that's a pretty decent deal."

"But we don't even look alike!" the girl responded indignantly. "I have brown eyes, you have blue. You're blond, I'm dark haired. I've seen images of Padme Amidala and I look a lot like her."

"Indeed you do," Darth Vader stated, his gaze now focused obsessively on Leia's face. "And Luke looks like my former self. I never _dreamed_ that my angel bore twins."

Chewbacca chose this moment to growl at some length, and Han glanced at the Sith Lord before turning to look at Luke and Leia.

"Chewie says he saw images of Anakin Skywalker back during the Clone Wars," he said compassionately, "and confirms that he was blond and blue eyed. A lot like you, Luke."

Leia bit her lip so hard that she tasted blood.

"You tortured me!" she snarled suddenly, turning on the Dark Lord. "You used everything you had, pain and drugs and your own dark will to try to burrow into my head to find the Rebel Base. I hate you! I hate you for what you did to me, to my real parents, to Alderaan! And nothing you can say, nothing you can do, will ever change that!"

She was panting, her eyes blazing, and Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, stared back for a long moment before he turned on his heels and walked slowly out of the room.

The lock clicked shut behind him.

"Well, I don't know about you guys," Han said wearily, "but I seriously need a drink."

_Author Note: I wrote 3 chapters while on vacation, but now I'm back to 'real life' and writing time will be far harder to come by. But I'll keep plugging away! Thank you SO Much for encouraging reviews and follows and favorites. Thank you, darling husband, for editing for me!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Nice 'Cell'_

_Weird Ship_

_Hoth _

_Middle of the Night_

Luke Skywalker jerked awake, his breathing quick, even as he sat up slightly. Where was he? What time was it?

Memories of the last day smashed into his still reeling brain and and he forced himself to lie back down on the bed. He didn't want to wake up any of the others. Based on the darkness outside the window, it was still night on Hoth and since the day/night cycles were approximately 12 hours long at this latitude, he should try to sleep more.

But he doubted he'd be able to sleep. The crashing, crushing, insane, impossible, likely true revelations of a few hours ago were making his brain buzz. Only sheer exhaustion and a need to let Leia rest had enabled him to drift off for at least a short time.

Darth Vader, his _father_? Could it be? He had venerated his long lost father, mourned him when Uncle Owen had told him, as a child of 5, that his father was dead. He had rejoiced when old Ben Kenobi had informed him that his father had been a noble Jedi, not a random navigator on a freighter.

He had been filled with anger, and a most un-Jedi like desire for revenge, when Obi-Wan had told him that Darth Vader, the Emperor's right hand man, had betrayed and murdered Anakin Skywalker.

Somehow, Vader's murder of his father had uplifted Luke's sense of self in a twisted way. His father, Anakin Skywalker, had truly been important. Luke Skywalker wasn't just a pathetic bit of human flotsam which had blown onto Tatooine's endless sands. His father had been vital enough in the affairs of the galaxy for Darth Vader to kill. So did that mean he, Luke Skywalker, was at least a little important?

If Vader was telling the truth and Luke thought he was (knew he was) then yes, he was very important, at least to Vader. And Darth Vader was, at this moment in time, the most powerful man in the galaxy.

Leia's breathing sped up briefly and she moaned in her sleep. Luke stretched out his hand and gently touched her arm, causing her to relax, her breathing to even out. Carefully, to avoid disturbing her further, the youth turned on his back and stared at the ceiling.

They had decided, when it was time to bunk down for the night, that it was appropriate for Luke and Leia to share the only bed space given that a.) they were the smallest of the four Rebels and b.) they were – twins. (Could it truly be? Leia Organa of Alderaan - brave, strong, beautiful, intelligent, elegant, one of the leaders of the Rebellion, was his _sister_? He knew who he was, a poorly educated moisture farmer with the sophistication of a baby ronto. Leia Organa, a princess, his sister?)

He sighed. That apparent reality was so overwhelming that it kept distracting him from Vader's claim that he had formerly been Anakin Skywalker. His father ...

Luke firmly closed his eyes and tried to meditate, but he'd had limited experience and now, of all times, his brain was buzzing too much.

He slipped carefully to his feet and made his way cautiously over to the refresher, where he used the facilities. It was a lovely refresher, and this was a lovely ship. Where had Vader acquired it, and why? Why was the Sith here on Hoth? How could he have turned to the Dark Side to save his wife? Why, why, _why?_

With a suppressed groan, he stepped back into the cabin and prepared to lie down again, though he ached to move, to do something with his hands. But Leia and Han and Chewbacca were all still asleep, and he couldn't turn on a light ...

The door to the cabin abruptly slid open, as if in invitation.

It_ was_ an invitation, Luke decided. With a deep breath, he stepped out of the room, turned right into the corridor, and walked into the main cabin, where he and his friends had been surprised, terrified, and then stunned unconscious only yesterday.

Which seemed a lifetime ago.

Darth Vader stood in the middle of the cabin, tools in his hands. Floating in front of him, hovering in the air horizontally, was R2D2. Luke blinked, then took two hasty steps forward.

"What are you doing to R2D2?" he demanded with a mixture of outrage and curiosity.

Vader glanced at the youth briefly, then turned back and made a careful adjustment, "I am repairing his rocket boosters."

Luke gaped, even as he took a few steps forward to stare at the droid's currently unobscured innards, "He has ... rocket boosters? I didn't know that."

"Yes, he has been shamefully neglected," the cyborg replied severely.

Another part was carefully rotated, and R2D2, who had been quiet, twitched his single eye and beeped.

"Very well," the Sith replied, and gestured carefully. A tiny part, the size of Luke's pinky fingernail floated out.

"What is your analysis of this circuit?" Vader asked.

Luke took a deep breath, fighting to overcome the surreal nature of this conversation. He was with his father, repairing a droid together. Who would have ever believed such a thing could happen?

"It looks fried," he replied, leaning over and inspecting it carefully. "Carbon scoring, I think. It must have short circuited."

"I concur," his father (his father!) replied. The Sith strode over to a nearby drawer, which opened without a touch, and a moment later a similar circuit board floated out.

"The amperage on this circuit is insufficient for the astromech, but we can alter that by ..."

"Augmenting the node!" Luke finished with excitement. The Sith, thankfully, didn't seem bothered my Luke's interruption, and the part drifted over to a nearby table. Luke lifted an eyebrow and then stepped forward as Vader gestured in encouragement. The next two minutes were silent as the youth found the appropriate tools to alter the amperage.

Luke focused intently on the part, trying to ignore his own emotional turmoil at this bizarre scene. He had fixed countless droids and moisture 'vaporators in his day, and knew he was mechanically gifted. Apparently that was an area he shared with his father, along with his piloting skills.

"How did you know that R2 has rocket boosters?" he asked quietly, his eyes on the board in front of him.

"He was my astromech during the Clone Wars," Vader replied calmly.

Luke jerked slightly at this, then forced himself to put 90% of his attention on the task at hand. When he had completed the task to his satisfaction and the amperage measured appropriately, he rose to his feet and walked over to R2D2, who had been lowered to the floor.

"You never told me you knew my father," he said to R2 accusingly.

The droid twitched his dome to one side, beeped at some length, whistled apologetically, then fell silent.

"He says that he is not able to discuss your parents," Vader translated coldly. "No doubt some individual, likely Kenobi or Bail Organa, silenced him on that topic."

Luke bit his lip, his eyes smarting. Kenobi had known all along, of course. He had lied to Luke. He had assured the young man that Vader had murdered his father, when Vader _was_ his father. What was he supposed to do about that? Had Kenobi deliberately chosen to lie in the hopes that Luke would kill Vader, kill his _own father_? And had Bail Organa also known what had truly happened to Anakin Skywalker? How about the Lars? He knew that Owen Lars had disapproved of Anakin Skywalker but he had never known why or how. Surely ... surely Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru hadn't lied about that. Surely they too thought Anakin Skywalker was dead.

He couldn't be sure though, could he? Everything he had believed about his family and his mentors was in question now. Whom could he trust?

"Very few people can be trusted," the Dark Lord stated coldly, gesturing towards the small chip. It leaped into the air and floated over to R2, who also lifted into the air, beeping indignantly. The chip was inserted, the astromech flipped upright, and there was a brief burst of flame before it petered out.

R2 whistled and whirred, and Vader nodded, "There are, naturally enough, additional issues after so many years of neglect, R2D2."

Luke was hung up on Vader's previous statement.

"Can you read my mind?" he demanded in distress.

Vader turned to regard him for a long moment, then shook his black mask slowly. "No, I cannot read your mind, Luke, but I can sense your emotions and they are currently a tempestuous maelstrom. It is not difficult to ascertain your thoughts. And you are correct to question all that Kenobi told you, my son. He was using you."

Luke blinked back tears and shook his head. A moment later, he turned and began wandering around the cabin, gazing blankly at various instruments and random, elegant panels.

"Old Ben was there for me when ...," his voice trailed off, and when he spoke again, his voice was husky, "when I got home and my aunt and uncle were smoking skeletons in front of the farm. Stormtroopers looking for the Death Star plans just killed them..."

He lifted his chin now and stared up at the tall Sith, "He saved my life then by keeping me away from the troopers, plus he warned off a thug in a bar by chopping the man's arm off. I owe Obi-Wan my _life_."

"He stole you from me," Vader snarled back, his voice dropping to its deepest possible tone. "He conspired with the Lars and the Organas to hide my own children from me – you, on the most desolate planet in the galaxy, your sister ..."

The Dark Lord stopped and strode a few hasty paces before stopping, "She was allowed into the political arena, even as the Organas conspired against Palpatine. If I had known who she was, I would not have touched a hair on her head."

"The Empire destroyed her planet," Luke shot back, his own eyes blazing with indignation. "Suppose she hadn't been in the public eye – when you have a planet destroying battle station roaming the galaxy_, no one_ is safe."

Vader straightened to his full height and lifted his right hand to point directly at his son.

"You and your sister will be safe," he intoned. "I pledge that to you. Whatever else happens in this broken galaxy, I will keep you safe."

/-

Leia woke up with a start. She had lain awake for hours before falling asleep, and she felt sluggish and confused. Where was she? Then it all came crashing down again, the revelations of the previous day. Her mind whispered, her brain whirled, her heart ... broke.

Could it truly be that Darth Vader, the monster who had tortured and tormented her, was her biological father? It was impossible. Or was it? She had known that there was some secret associated with her mother but was that the secret? Had Bail and Breha known that their daughter was ... was ...

She shuddered even as her eyes and body sent important signals to her brain. Luke was no longer sleeping next to her. She sat up in alarm just as the door to the cabin slid open.

Her breath caught in terror until she noted the slight form of the figure moving toward her. Darth Vader was noisy and he was huge.

"Luke?" she whispered.

"Yes," Luke replied, sitting down gingerly on the bed next to her.

"What's up, Kid?" Han's sleep fogged voice came from the floor, and Chewbacca muttered softly.

Luke leaned over to a nearby control panel and turned on a soft light near the refresher. The four Rebels blinked at one another and Luke leaned back against a wall with a groan.

"I was just talking to Vader," he explained with a frown. "The man is crazy!"

Leia stiffened with fear and anger, "Did he hurt you?"

"Hurt me?" Luke replied in bewilderment, then his expression shifted to one of sympathy and he reached out to grab her hand, "No, Leia, he didn't. I promise, nothing like that."

Han rose to his feet and lurched over to the cooling unit. He pulled out a few bottles of some purple liquid and threw two of them to Luke and Leia, then handed one to Chewbacca.

"Mupple juice," the smuggler said. "Drink up."

Luke obeyed and pursed his lips at the tart flavor before gulping more down. It was good stuff, just needed some getting used to.

"So he wants to keep us safe," the youth said aloud. "Vader's ready and willing to let the galaxy fall apart, but he is determined that he will keep you and me sheltered from the chaos."

"Because he _thinks_ that you and I are his children?" Leia demanded, her nostrils flaring in outrage. "After what he did to me, to _Alderaan_, he thinks he's just going to walk into our lives and take over? That's insane!"

"Pretty much," Luke replied, his own eyes narrowing. "He's a really weird guy and I'm getting some serious vibes that he's obsessive."

Leia took another slug of juice and then rose to her feet, "I'm going out there and having it out with him. I'd rather die than live as his prisoner."

Luke put his hand out to stop her and shook his head, "He's left the ship, Leia. We had an argument and I assure you I said the same thing, that I'd rather be dead than a prisoner, and he got upset and left. Apparently that's his way of coping when we challenge him. He leaves."

There was bitter hurt in Luke's voice, but Han spoke up, "Better than choking you, Kid."

Luke's eyes widened at this and Han leaned against the wall, "He already told you he choked your mom in a rage. Maybe he's walking away to keep from lashing out."

Leia sucked in an outraged breath, "You are defending him, Han? Really?"

The Corellian sighed and shook his head, "You know I'm not, Leia. I hate what he's done, to you, to Chewie's people. I'm just saying, you need to live with your reality. Sounds like he doesn't want to kill you. He's also unstable. I'm not saying change who you are, but realize that if you push him too hard, he may kill you in a rage and then, like as not, regret it."

There was a long silence following this amazingly insightful announcement, and then Leia suddenly jerked her head up.

"Wait, did you say he's gone?" she demanded of Luke. "Let's get out of here while he's away!"

Luke was shaking his head, "He's locked us in this ship, Leia ..."

"You and Han are brilliant mechanics!" she interrupted fiercely. "We at least have to try to break out."

"And he's hidden the _Falcon_," Luke finished.

Han jerked himself to his upright position, "He _what!?"_

"While we were sleeping, he moved the _Falcon_ somewhere," Luke said doggedly.

Han's mouth was gaping open in distress and incredulity.

"And he's sabotaged it so it won't fly," Luke continued.

There was a rumble from Chewbacca and Han went off in Huttese for a full minute before switching back to Basic.

"Listen, can't we, you know, jump Vader when he comes back? There are four of us and Chewie's huge. I mean, I know Vader's got this menacing aura and a super dangerous reputation but don't you think we could take him, even without weapons?"

Chewbacca roared at some length, and Han's face drooped like a disappointed child.

He turned back to Luke and Leia and said sadly, "Chewie spent a lot of time with trained Force Sensitives back in the Clone War era and he says no, we can't take Vader. This stinks."

/-

Darth Vader spun around and slashed the large snow creature expertly in the torso, then ducked to avoid another creature. A moment later, the first managed to jump forward, mouth gaping, teeth drooling with rage, and the Sith used the Force to push it away even as he sliced the second creature in half.

The death of his companion did nothing to discourage the ... the wampa, it was called, according to the Imperial database. Injured though the animal was, it leaped forward again with a guttural howl, only to lose its head to the red lightsaber.

Vader stared down at the two dead creatures, then methodically lopped off their arms and the remaining head. A moment later, he had lifted both cauterized bodies with the Force and began marching with them toward his ship, no, _Padme's_ ship, to speak with his children again.

Killing such brute creatures took little effort or skill, but it helped sate his anger and frustration, at least minimally. Furthermore, food supplies for normal sentients were limited on his ship and that pathetic example of a vessel, the _Millennium Falcon_. The Wookiee, at least, would enjoy eating wampa, and perhaps the Corellian would as well.

Vader focused on his breathing as he marched, needing to keep his anger under control. He was not used to dissension, or arguing, or even disagreement from those around him. For decades, his underlings had responded to his commands with a quick "Yes, my Lord". They knew the consequences of disobedience and failure.

Palpatine, of course, had been the master and thus Vader rarely countered him openly; when he had voiced concerns about the elder Sith's plans, he had always couched his arguments carefully and politely.

Thus, he had no natural coping skills for two young people, his own children, who had been raised apart from him, who were _Rebels_, who argued with him, who hated him. And he could hardly blame the twins. He, Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, had tortured his own daughter at length, had held her in his vise like grip when Tarkin had ordered the Death Star to destroy Alderaan. Luke's family had died at Imperial hands, and he had watched his own father destroy the man whom he depended on and admired. Not that Vader regretted killing Obi-Wan – if anything, he wished he could have killed him more slowly for his betrayal – but it definitely made his relationship with Luke more complicated.

It was a dilemma, and a dilemma of his own making. If he had come away with Padme as she had asked, as she had _pleaded_, perhaps she would not have died. And even if she had died in childbirth, as his visions had foretold, he would have kept the children safe. He would have raised them himself. They would be a devoted family, not enemies.

He had mourned Padme for decades, ever since that horrible, agonizing, bitter moment when he'd raised himself up, newly encased in his torturous armor, and asked if she was all right and Palpatine had said she was dead at his hand.

But now Vader needed Padme more than ever before. His children, her children, were his ... guests. But also, realistically, his prisoners. Luke was not happy with the situation, and the Princess no doubt even less so. What was he to do? They could stay here on Hoth for weeks, no doubt – it was unlikely that the Rebellion had the sentient power to search for them, and even more unlikely that he and the children would be found in the tractless wasteland.

It could only be the Force which had brought them together. Luke and Leia had come to him, their father, and the reason must be to keep them safe while the galaxy contorted in the confusing, volatile aftermath of Palpatine's death.

He had failed his mother and his wife, and lost them both. But he would keep his children safe, whether they approved or not.


	5. Chapter 5

Cave on Hoth

_2 weeks later_

Darth Vader stood five meters away from the fire around which his children and their companions huddled. His olfactory senses had been destroyed on Mustafar, along with so much else, so he was unable to smell the roasting wampa. Based on the expressions of the other four sentients, the smell was good.

"Here you go, Leia," Solo said, carefully pulling a haunch of wampa leg off the makeshift oven suspended over the flames. The princess gladly held out her plate and a moment later was enthusiastically chewing the meat.

"This really is amazing," she gushed with enthusiasm. "I especially like the fatty parts."

Luke laughed aloud even as he accepted his own hunk of meat, "I guess tauntaun fed wampa is naturally good eating."

"I guess," Leia said, rolling her eyes with delight, "best meat I've ever eaten."

Vader shook his head just slightly in disbelief. He had expected his daughter to have a more refined palate but no, she had waxed enthusiastic about the wampa meat since the first time he'd offered it two weeks ago. The males in the group were more subdued in their response, though all ate the meat with alacrity. Based on the contents of the _Millennium Falcon_, the Rebels apparently subsisted largely on expired ration bars and Corellian rum; perhaps his guests/prisoners' excitement was not surprising.

The Dark Lord did a quick check both visually and with the Force, then relaxed again. Letting his guests (prisoners) out of his ship and into this cave was a calculated risk – on the one hand, the children and the smugglers would be safer confined on board the _Amidala_. On the other hand, all were going steadily stir crazy, and since he was not hosting normal guests (prisoners), it was wise for him to keep their mental status in mind. This cave was only a kilometer from another cave where tauntauns, and thus wampa, tended to gather, so Vader was always on the alert for potential attacks from the large predators.

He sighed, though softly enough that it would not be picked up by the vocoder. The last two weeks were, he supposed, a success in that they were all still alive and unharmed. Luke was warming up to him, if 'warming' was an apt word for their cautious, tentative, and often antagonistic relationship.

His son's reaction to his long lost enemy of a father was certainly benign compared to his daughter's response. While Vader and Luke had quickly accepted the stunning revelation that Princess Leia Organa was the daughter of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, and Luke's twin, the princess herself had firmly rejected it for three full days. She had snarled at Vader, and argued with him, and sometimes ignored him, but she refused to accept the truth.

That fourth day, Vader had discovered positive proof of their relationship. Leia's reaction had been truly worthy of a powerful Force Sensitive, albeit an untrained one, and since then she had added anguished hurt to her repertoire of emotions involving the Sith Lord.

Not that Vader could blame her. At night, the memories of his wife's death and his daughter's pain as he tortured her in that cell in the Death Star had haunted his limited sleep.

He sighed again and focused on the small group of Rebels around the fire. Their meal was nearly done, which meant that he needed to prepare himself for round 38 of arguments with his twins. They had snarled, snapped, argued, and paced in rage at his insistence that they stay with him and away from the Rebel Alliance. Leia, in particular, had truly proven herself a worthy daughter to Padme Amidala. Her arguments were cogent and convincing, and only stubborn, stupid determination had allowed him to prevail. That, and the fact that he was the de facto jailer of the group. He was thankful that thus far none of the four prisoners had attempted any kind of violence against him, and was indeed most grateful to the Wookiee Chewbacca, who had counseled against attacking him.

R2D2 had proven a surprisingly adept spy for him, though Vader knew it went both ways. He had been startled when his astromech had shown the twins the tragic holovids Vader had found deep in R2's databanks, of Padme and Vader arguing on Mustafar, followed by the holo of Padme in labor, in agony, struggling and eventually dying just after her twins were born. At least she'd had time to name them.

"Father," Luke said aloud, breaking into his bleak thoughts.

Vader gathered himself and straightened to his most impressive height, "Yes, my son?"

The youth circled around the fire, which was still blazing enthusiastically. Who knew that wampa and bantha fat were such wonderful fuels?

"So you told me that when you first met a Jedi on Tatooine, you hoped that he had come to free the slaves," Luke stated in a slightly wavering tone.

Vader's hands tightened. Luke had brought up this issue a few days ago in the midst of an argument about the Empire's position on slavery.

("_I know you and Grandma Shmi were slaves. How can you _possibly _defend slavery?_")

The Sith had responded with angry words and a Force shaken ship, though he was proud that he had managed to keep from injuring his children or their friends. The memories, even decades later, were bitter and painful. The Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and his padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi had come to Tatooine in search of a ship component, and had shown no particular interest in or care for the many who were enslaved in the broiling heat of Tatooine's twin suns. Qui-Gon Jinn had only bargained for Anakin's freedom when the older Jedi realized that young Skywalker was a powerful Force sensitive.

(Padme had cared, he knew that. She had cared deeply. And when Anakin had left Tatooine, he truly had dreamed of freeing the slaves ...)

"So," Luke continued with determination, again capturing the cyborg's attention, "you say you won't let us go back to the Alliance. I guess that kind of makes sense since the Rebellion is in a holding pattern while things shake out politically on Imperial Center."

"Yes," Vader replied hopefully. Were his children finally ready to be reasonable?

"So we've been talking," his son continued doggedly, "and we want to try to free the slaves on Tatooine."

There was a pause as the Sith's brain absorbed this ridiculous statement. Vader glanced around. Leia Organa's eyebrow was lifted and her eyes challenged him. Solo was gazing at him curiously, and Chewbacca lifted his giant hairy paw and shoved another chunk of wampa meat into his mouth.

"Tatooine?" Vader demanded, stupefied. "I ... dislike Tatooine."

"So do I," Luke replied firmly. "But just because we hate it doesn't mean we shouldn't go back to help all those poor souls who are enslaved."

The Sith stared at his son, whose expression was a mixture of yearning and determination. He didn't care about the slaves (he didn't!) but his children did and they wanted to make a difference, and the Outer Rim was safer. But _Tatooine_?

"There are ... there are so many slaves in the galaxy, my son," he argued. "Tatooine has only a few thousand slaves. Even if we succeeded, it would be a mere drop in the oceans of Naboo compared to all those held in slavery."

"That. Does. Not. Matter," Luke snapped, stepping closer, his eyes narrowed now. "Every one of those slaves is a person. If we save one, it is far better than sitting on this frigid ice cube waiting for the galaxy to lurch in a new direction."

"It is not worth risking your lives," Vader replied coldly.

Luke threw up his hands in frustration, "Dunes of the Jundland Wastes, Father, you're the most powerful Force Sensitive in the galaxy! I know the Hutts are powerful, but you really think you can't take them on? You?!"

Vader shifted slightly on his cyborg legs, and his eyes fell on his daughter's slim form.

"I will not take your sister within 100 leagues of Jabba the Hutt," he intoned imperiously.

This, naturally enough, inflamed his daughter's always ready temper.

"Excuse me?" she snarled, striding forward to stand next to her twin. "You captured me, tortured me, and would have executed me if Han and Luke and Chewie hadn't rescued me from the Death Star. You have neither the right nor the reason to be ridiculously overprotective. Luke is right. We can take the Hutts."

Unexpectedly, Han Solo chimed in at this point, "Actually, Leia, I have to give Lord Vader some credit here. He has every reason to be concerned about you."

She turned now, her eyes flashing, "Why me?"

"Because, uh ..."

Vader, surprised and grateful at the Corellian's support, continued, "The Hutt is notorious for targeting beautiful humanoid slaves, my daughter. You would be at risk."

Luke gulped and nodded, "I had heard that. I forgot."

Leia frowned, "Humanoids? Not Hutts? That's weird. What's his problem?"

"Weird or not, Leia," Han continued gravely, "it's an area of concern. None of us want to see you in a slave girl outfit ... sort of ..."

He trailed off, and Leia paled slightly.

"I understand," she said.

"If you were trained in the Force," Vader said carefully and indeed slyly, "I might consider taking you to Tatooine to free the slaves."

This prompted the usual howls of indignation from Leia and, to a lesser extent, Luke.

"We will not learn the ways of the Force from you," Leia sputtered angrily. "Look what the Dark Side did! You, a former Jedi Knight, attacked our mother, nearly killed us, and are responsible for untold suffering across the galaxy."

Her father sighed and focused his breathing carefully. This was a well worn argument, and a frustrating one.

"I concede that my devotion to the Dark Side devotion enflamed my anger, resulting in the attack on your mother. I deeply regret that," the Sith stated carefully. "But the Jedi are extinct. There is none left alive to train you."

"Thanks to you," Leia snapped.

"Furthermore," Vader continued, his posture stiffening, "I would not permit you to learn the ways of the Jedi. The Jedi Grandmaster of my day told me to let your mother die. They cared nothing for me; all they wanted was my power to serve their own ends."

"Well, they obviously messed up with you," Leia stated coldly, her eyes slits of fury, "given what a disaster you turned out to be."

"Leia," Luke said worriedly, putting a hand on his sister's arm. She shook it off indignantly.

"I am not going to reek cat foot around him for fear he'll attack us," she said angrily. "If he wants to kill us, fine. I'd rather die than be held prisoner by him forever."

Vader sensed her anger and distress and his own frustration over the situation nearly boiled over. Why did his daughter have to be so stubborn? All he wanted to do was protect her and her brother. Was that so wrong?

A stray memory hit him with the impact of a meteor – of Padme, standing in the Senate, her beautiful face alight with passion and determination. Leia and Luke came by their devotion and spirit and yes, stubbornness, honestly enough.

But what was he to do? He would not let them go back to the Alliance. He would not. The Rebellion's leadership had put his children in such danger – tasking Leia with collecting the Death Star plans above Scarif and sending Luke, a child of 19 with no combat experience, to attack the Death Star.

He could have lost them both without ever knowing the truth ...

A sudden thought struck him.

A good thought.

It was at least a possible, partial solution ...

"Come," he ordered. "We will return to the ship."

/-

_Leia's sleeping quarters_

_The Amidala_

_A few hours later_

Leia woke up and sat up suddenly, her breathing quick, her body overheated from a racing heartrate. She took a few deep, cleansing, centering breaths even as she reached over to flip on a light. She looked around frantically, then relaxed in relief. Her private sleeping quarters were small, spartan but comfortable, and no two meter nightmare of a cyborg daddy was looming.

It was just a nightmare. A nightmare. Yes, she was Darth Vader's prisoner but she wasn't in that horrible cell in the Death Star, with a torture droid hovering over her, ready to inject agonizing, hallucinogenic chemicals into her body.

She closed her eyes, then opened them again. There was a strange vibration in the ship. They were in flight. Leia rolled out of her bed and walked to the hole which Vader had carefully cut into the wall. She bent over and carefully stepped into the refresher which was now shared by Leia's room and the room occupied by Luke, Han and Chewbacca.

A wry smile twisted her lips as she glanced at the mirror, observing her rather messy braid. It was truly comical that Vader had decided it was 'inappropriate' for her share sleeping quarters with the male Rebels, and thus one of his first acts had been to convert a storage room into a private place for her.

The door to the outer corridor was securely locked, of course, but she could get to her friends whenever she wanted through the refresher. The hole was small so that only Luke and Leia could pass through it easily as Han, and certainly Chewie, were bigger than the twins.

There was a rustle in the 'boys' room and she called out softly, "Are you guys decent?"

"Come on in, Leia," Luke replied.

She opened the refresher door and stepped in, unsurprised that the others were awake.

"We've lifted off," she stated.

"Yep," Han replied, "about two hours ago."

The princess blushed slightly, "I guess I slept through that. Any idea where we are going?"

Chewie howled, and Han's brow lowered in clear outrage, "No. But what I do know is that the _Falcon_ is abandoned in that frozen wasteland."

The girl took a quick breath of distress and reached forward to touch Solo's hand, "I'm sorry, Han. We'll talk to Vader. Maybe he would be willing to send you back so you can get her. He wants Luke and I, not you, so ..."

The smuggler interrupted firmly, "Chewie and I are sticking with you and the kid. The _Falcon,_ well, we'll just see. But we're not leaving you."

The twins exchanged quick glances, and Leia was not surprised to see tears in Luke's eyes. He'd always worn his emotions on his jacket, unlike the princess, who had trained herself from an early age to mask her feelings.

She felt like crying herself, though. There was no doubt that both Han and Chewbacca had helped immensely in preventing the fractured Skywalker clan from attacking one another in the last two weeks.

/

_Cell 2187_

_Cell Block AA6_

_Imperial Prison D98_

_Tibrin_

_Mid Rim_

_1 day later_

The door to the cell slid open, and the female occupant looked up with wary curiosity. It had been some weeks since anyone had entered her cell. She'd been in solitary confinement during that time and was pleased that she wasn't stark, raving mad.

She was too tough to go crazy. She hoped.

The Imperial lieutenant, clad in the usual crisp black uniform, stepped into the cell with six troopers at his heels.

"On your feet, Prisoner #Z879," he barked, even as the troopers pointed their weapons at her.

She rose to her feet cautiously and obediently held out her hands, which were promptly manacled. She wore a shock collar and was more or less starved, so there was no hope that she could take these men.

"Follow me," the officer ordered, and exited the cell. The woman hesitated briefly, only to be shoved forward by one of the troopers. She took a deep breath and stepped out of her cell into the bleak corridor with its grated floor and dark cells lined as far as the eye could see.

Her interrogations had all taken place within her cell so ... was this finally her end? If so, she was surprised to realize she was not afraid. She had been locked away for well over a year, subjected to limited food and periodic interrogations, and she was ready to die.

The prisoner stepped into the elevator surrounded by Imperials and waited as it lifted eight floors. The door slid open and she was prodded out again, and then escorted through a series of corridors, ending in a truly gigantic landing bay.

In spite of herself, she lifted her face, relishing in the smell of salty air from the nearby oceans (Tibrin was an oceanic planet, and every speck of land was close to an ocean) and the clean, unfiltered air. If indeed she was walking to her death, she would enjoy these last moments of comparative pleasure.

Another shove from a trooper, and she found herself approaching a large ship, silver and beautiful, with pleasing curves and an immaculate surface. The ramp lowered and the lieutenant and two troopers marched her up into the main cabin, which was empty. A moment later, she was forced onto a seat, and a chain was attached to her manacles and to the chair, thus tethering her into place.

They left, and the Togruta female turned to look around curiously. Her first instinct, upon laying eyes on the ship, was that it was someone's pleasure yacht. But no, the interior was too business-like for such a thing. There were various electronic components piled tidily on the nearby surfaces, the walls and seating were clean but not ostentatious, and there was no alcohol in sight.

What was she doing here?

She stared out of the window as the ship lifted into space, watching as the view changed to show oceans, then blue sky, then the darkness of space. Three minutes later, the ship leaped into hyperspace.

A moment later, the door to the cockpit slid open and Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, stepped through the door. The woman started in shock and started to rise, only to be yanked by the chain.

"Darth Vader," she managed after a moment. "I am truly honored that after more than a year as a guest of the Empire, you've deigned to bless me with your most august presence. I suppose I should be honored that I will die at your hands as opposed to a random Imperial firing squad. Or perhaps your master will have me executed unpleasantly in Imperial Square? That would no doubt please the more feral members of the Imperial court."

The giant cyborg stared down at her for a long moment, then gestured sharply with one hand. The prisoner stiffened slightly in alarm, which changed into surprise as the chains fell from her wrists and the shock collar from her neck.

She rose to her feet, rubbing her wrists, and waited with narrowed eyes for Vader to do something.

When the deep bass voice finally spoke, it was curiously hesitant.

"Good morning, Snips."


	6. Chapter 6

_Author Note: In this AU, Ahsoka did NOT know what happened to Anakin before this meeting._

_Main Cabin_

_The _Amidala

_In hyperspace_

"No," Ahsoka said, her blue eyes wide in distress, her montrals rigid with alarm. "No. That's not true. That's _impossible_!"

"Search your feelings, Ahsoka," the immense cyborg replied firmly, though he did not step closer to her. "You know it to be true!"

"No! No!" she screamed back at him, her eyes filled with tears of distress, repugnance, horror. "He died ... my master died defending the temple from the clone forces of the Emperor. You lie! My master would never ... he would never ..."

She trailed off, struggling to control her breathing. It couldn't be true. It couldn't.

"I did," the black form responded softly. "I did. For Padme."

The Togruta stilled in confusion, "Padme? The Senator? I don't ... I don't understand."

"We were married, Ahsoka," Vader continued gravely, "at the very beginning of the Clone Wars, on Varykino. I began dreaming of her death, Snips. Every night, I dreamed of her death. I went to Yoda for help, and he turned me away. Palpatine promised me that he could save her through the power of the Dark Side. I could not bear to lose her. I pledged my loyalty to him."

Ahsoka stepped forward now, her chin lifted to face his dark mask, "I saw a holo of Padme's funeral on Naboo."

The gloved fists clenched and the there was a tremble in the ship, like the sibilant whisper of wind before a tornado strikes.

"She died, Ahsoka, in spite of my decision to turn to the Dark Side. Perhaps _because _of that decision."

The man turned now and began pacing, his posture rigid. Tano forced herself to reach out with the Force, though her efforts felt rusty from disuse. She'd cut herself off from the outside world a few weeks into her captivity, unable to bear the Darkness of the galaxy while she suffered in the Empire's brutal grip. The Force had sustained her and kept her sane, but she had turned inward for many long, exhausting months.

The Sith was a confusing maelstrom of Light and Dark, but she sensed the familiar imprint of her former master. Indeed, Darth Vader had formerly been Anakin Skywalker.

"What do you want from me?" she demanded bitterly. "Or perhaps I should ask, what does your master want from me?"

Vader turned now and casually waved his right hand, "Palpatine is dead. I killed him four months ago."

Ahsoka blinked in surprise and delight. She sensed that Vader spoke the truth. So the old tyrant was dead.

"So what, you're Emperor now?"

The great mask shook firmly, "No. Once I killed Darth Sidious, I left the Empire and hid myself away on the planet of Hoth so that I could focus on finding my son."

The woman wobbled slightly on her feet. Really, this was too many shocks for one day.

"Your son?" she whispered.

Vader gestured at the chair she'd previously been chained to, "Sit down, Ahsoka, before you fall down."

She eyed him warily, but her former master retreated a meter away and sank down on the largest chair in the cabin, and she followed suit by lowering herself. Indeed, she felt lightheaded.

The cyborg gazed at her for a long moment, then gestured. A cooling unit in the wall opened and a bottle floated out and onto a small table at Ahsoka's side.

"Mupple juice," the Dark Lord said. "Drink it, Snips."

She sighed and obeyed. She was half starved and thirsty. The juice tasted very good.

"So, a son?" she prompted her former master.

"Yes, Luke Skywalker," Vader replied, his voice reverent. "Padme died in childbirth as I had foreseen, but she gave birth before her death. Luke was taken to Tatooine and raised by my stepbrother and his wife. Sixteen months ago, he joined the Rebellion and fired the shot that destroyed the Death Star. Four months ago, I finally discovered his name and I realized that Palpatine had lied to me twenty years ago. The last time I met Padme, we argued over my actions and I ... I attacked her. Kenobi defeated me in a subsequent lightsaber battle and I was nearly fatally burned. Palpatine brought me back to Coruscant and put me in this life support suit, and when I awoke he assured me that Padme, and my unborn child, had died at my hand."

Tano bit her lip and shook her head. There was a lot to unpack here but for now ...

"So your son is a Rebel," she commented pointedly.

"And my daughter," the Sith replied.

"Your daughter?! "

Vader shifted in his chair and looked out the window, where the whorls of hyperspace danced their stately minuet, "My angel bore me twins, though I did not know she carried two. Two weeks ago, Luke arrived on Hoth on a Rebel mission and I captured him and his three associates. His companion Leia Organa of Alderaan revealed through her words that she was Luke's twin sister and my biological daughter."

Tano took three cleansing breaths as she forced her brain to work through all these shattering revelations. She glared at Vader.

"The Empire destroyed Leia Organa's home world."

Vader lowered his head, "Yes. And before that, I tortured my daughter seeking the location of the Rebel base. If I had known ..."

He trailed off, and continued with obvious difficulty, "She hates me."

"So where are your children?" Ahsoka demanded.

Vader gestured behind him, "Locked up on this ship."

She rolled her eyes, "Well, that's a great way to work on your relationship. Imprison them."

He stood up now and began pacing again, his movements agitated, "They insist on returning to the Rebel Alliance. I will not permit that. The Alliance had put them both in danger repeatedly. Neither has been trained in the ways of the Force, but they refuse to learn from me."

He turned now to stare down at her, his Force sense focused on his former padawan, "You will teach them, Snips."

/-

Luke was sitting on the bed behind his sister, braiding her hair. His sister. His _sister._ It had been two weeks since the shattering discovery, and he still wasn't used to it.

His sister. Princess Leia Organa.

The door to the cabin slid open and all four Rebels tensed in expectation. Vader had thus far been a benign captor in that he had not harmed them, but interactions with him were always tense.

They stiffened even more when the individual who stepped through the door was not a two meter monolith of a cyborg. She was Togruta, with blue and white montrals and a tanned face with white markings. She was tall and thin. Very, very, very thin. Her one piece outfit was dreary gray and slightly tattered.

The twins stood up slowly and Han grabbed a spoon from the counter, presumably as some kind of weapon.

The intruder stopped less than a meter from the door and fixed her eyes on Luke. She was far taller than he, but her eyes were a similar shade of blue.

She stared at him, then began shaking her head slowly.

"Obviously you're Luke Skywalker," she said, her eyes wide with disbelief. "You look so much like Anakin did."

Leia took an angry step forward, "So what, you're one of Vader's underlings?"

The woman's teeth bared in a dangerous grimace, and she shook her head quickly, "Definitely not. If I could chop him to pieces and feed him to a rancor, I would. Though the poor rancor would probably get a stomach ache from all that machinery."

"Well, you sound like my kind of person," Han Solo responded cheerfully, though his eyes were watchful. "Han Solo, at your service."

"Ahsoka Tano," the Togruta replied, bobbing her head. "I was Anakin's padawan during the Clone Wars."

"Padawan?" Luke inquired in a puzzled tone.

"Apprentice," Ahsoka explained, her brow furrowed slightly. Luke, at least, truly knew almost nothing about the Jedi.

"So you're a Jedi?" Leia asked suspiciously.

Again, Tano shook her head, "No. I left the Order when the Jedi threw me to the loth-wolves, so to speak. During the Clone Wars, I was framed for murder and ..."

She stepped forward now to focus on the twins, "Your mother Padme defended me during my trial, and Anakin Skywalker found the evidence of my innocence."

The twins exchanged quick glances and Leia sighed, "Vader told you, I assume that he was once Anakin Skywalker and that we are ... his biological offspring."

Now Ahsoka's expression was a mixture of grief and anger, "Yes. He told me only minutes ago, after he pulled me out of the Imperial prison I've been festering in for a year. I'm still ... I can hardly believe it. Anakin was a bit of a loose particle cannon at times, and I knew his devotion to Padme was beyond what the Jedi permitted, but I ..."

She took a deep breath and quickly brushed tears away, "I'm sorry. I haven't processed it yet."

Chewbacca roared at this point, and Solo gestured toward one of the four chairs in the room, "Sit down, will ya? You look hungry. Can I offer you some expired ration bars? Or some wampa jerky?"

Tano managed a tenuous smile, "How can I pass up on wampa jerky?"

/-

_Cockpit_

_The Amidala_

_In hyperspace_

Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, sat in the control chair of _Amidala_. He glanced at the viewscreen, which showed hyperspace, then at his right gauntleted hand, for no apparent reason, then at the holoscreen which showed a view of the cabin where his children, their friends, and his former padawan were sitting around talking.

He was relieved that the initial encounter between Rebels and former padawan had gone smoothly. It remained to be seen whether Ahsoka would cooperate with him to train the twins, and whether the twins were willing to learn from the former padawan of Anakin Skywalker.

He tapped his right foot, then his left, then frowned. Why was he so ... twitchy? As a mammoth cyborg encased in heavy armor, he'd learned to conserve his strength, to move purposefully, not waste energy on fidgeting.

Anakin Skywalker had been in nearly constant motion, but Darth Vader was not. Sith Lords did not fidget.

But then, he wasn't sure he was a Sith Lord anymore. Indeed, he was not sure of much of anything. For decades, he had torn the worlds asunder with dark, vengeful purpose. He had been Emperor Palpatine's lethal weapon, full of rage at the galaxy in general and the Jedi in particular. His only goal had been to destroy the Order which had, in his twisted mind, taken his wife and child.

Children. Who had lived. Who had survived Mustafar.

His only true enemy had been Palpatine himself, who had manipulated and used and twisted the young Anakin Skywalker. The Jedi had been fools to allow Palpatine to rise to power, but he too had been a fool.

He sighed again and focused on the holoscreen. Luke and Leia called farewell to the others and then stepped into the refresher; Luke, no doubt, would join his sister in her sleeping quarters. Vader would need to make new arrangements for his guests (prisoners) as the addition of Ahsoka meant that the food and liquid and sleeping arrangements were insufficient. The cabin had been intended, optimistically, for his son when he laid hands on the boy. It was still a source of incredulity that his son and daughter and companions had come to Hoth, of all places.

Truly, the Force had mercy on him.

In any case, Vader hoped that the entire party would soon be leaving the _Amidala_. He was relatively confident the Naberries would accept the party because of his children. He they no doubt hated and loathed but for Luke and Leia, they would be welcoming.

Darth Vader glanced at the chrono and forced himself to relax his tense body. Three hours to Naboo.


	7. Chapter 7

_Leia's Sleeping Quarters_

_The _Amidala

_6 hours later_

"Luke, Leia!" Han called through the door in the refresher.

The Skywalker twins woke up immediately and both sat up in surprise and concern.

"What's wrong, Han?" Luke demanded, rolling to his feet and stepping toward his friend.

"Not sure about wrong, Kid, but we're in atmo around some planet. Looks like Vader is preparing to land somewhere soon. I thought you might want to wake up for whatever he has planned."

Luke relaxed slightly and yawned, stretched, and nodded, "Yep, thanks, Han."

He turned to his twin and smiled at her, "I'll use the refresher if that's Ok and then go into the other room.

She nodded, flopped back onto the bed, and closed her eyes. On the one hand, this whole imprisonment was tiresome and increasingly stressful as the quarters were inadequate. On the other hand ...

(_The door slid open. Leia sat up straight and stared nervously as Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith stepped down into her tiny cell._

_ "And now, your Highness, we will discuss the location of your hidden Rebel base," the bass voice intoned coldly._

_ She stared at him in confusion, then turned her head as the spherical interrogation droid floated into the room, the needle pointed toward her._

_ Vader stepped forward and grabbed her harshly as she struggled to get away from the drugs. Moments later, as the potent chemicals coursed through her drug stream, she grew lightheaded and dizzy._

_ "All this can end if you tell me the location of the base ..."_)

A calming cloud suddenly descended on Leia's mind, and the horrible memory fled. She sat up and looked around in bewilderment. What was that? It was like something outside of her had sensed the horrible recollection of her Death Star torture and ...

She shivered slightly, rose to her feet, and walked over to the hole which led into the refresher. The light was off so Luke was done; she stepped through and into the other room, where, to her surprise, the outer door into the main cabin was open. Ahsoka and Chewbacca were no longer in the room, and Han and Luke were near the door waiting for her.

"Leia," Luke said, his face worried. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, unsure and uneasy, "I'm fine. Any idea where we are?"

"Ahsoka says she thinks Naboo, our mother's home planet."

Leia blinked in surprise and exited the room, followed by the two men. Inside the main cabin, Tano was staring intently out the window at the steadily approaching landscape.

"I think that's Varykino!" the Togruta exclaimed in surprise.

The princess rushed over to the window and stared out in amazement. A few kilometers away, a stately and extensive residence graced a wooded expanse next to a lake. The building boasted domes and balconies, with crawling ivy giving it an air of dignified age. The waters surrounding the retreat were a clear blue with a few fretful waves tossing the surface.

Varykino ...

"What is Varykino?" Luke asked practically, slipping next to his sister and staring out. The ship was lowering steadily, aiming for a level field at the far end of the island.

"Our mother Padme was a Naberrie," Leia explained abstractly. "The Naberries are a wealthy and influential family and Varykino is their country retreat."

"It still is?" Luke asked in wonder.

She nodded, her eyes fixed on the view of Varykino, which was disappearing behind the trees as the _Amidala_ lowered to the ground, "Yes. Our cousin Pooja Naberrie was a Senator in the Galactic Senate until Palpatine dissolved the legislature."

"We have a cousin?" Luke replied in a shocked tone.

Leia finally tore her gaze away from the incoming landscape and turned an apologetic look on her twin, "Yes, Luke, we have cousins, an aunt and an uncle, even a grandmother. I studied the Naberries, surreptitiously of course, once I learned Padme was my mother. I should have told you."

"But you never approached them?" Luke replied in an accusatory manner.

Leia blinked in surprise at his tone, and then her eyes widened with understanding. Luke had always felt alone with the Lars – not a son, but a nephew. Loved, but different. Not understood. Whereas she ... yes, she had always felt embraced and appreciated and known by the Organas, both of whom were political powerhouses even as she was.

Luke Skywalker, if he had known that he had family still alive, would have contacted his maternal relatives regardless of the danger.

"No," the princess said gently. "I ... didn't know why my biological heritage was a secret, but I didn't dare bring it up. If the Naberries had found out, if they had publicized who I was, I feared some kind of dangerous consequences. Which, given the reality of our heritage, was likely a very sensible fear."

Luke bit his lip but nodded slowly, "I understand, Leia. I do. I just wish ..."

"What in all the stars and nebula!?"

The twins jerked in surprise and turned to stare at Han Solo, who was on the other side of the cabin staring out the opposite window.

"What ... who ... what?" Solo continued, his mouth gaping incredulously. Luke rushed to his side and made his own sound of amazement.

"Is that ... that's the _Falcon_!" the youth exclaimed.

At this opportune moment, the door to the cockpit slid open and all two meters of Darth Vader strode out.

"How ... who ... what is my ship doing here, Vader!" Solo snarled with the distress of a female krayt dragon whose young was threatened by an alpha male. "How dare you let some other ... other man/trooper/sentient pilot my ship?"

The Dark Lord placed his large hands on his belt and leaned back slightly, his tone amused, "I most assuredly did not dare, Captain Solo. Nevertheless, I thought it best that your ship meet us here on Naboo; she is dilapidated and ramshackle, but she blends in far better than the _Amidala_. The droids C-3PO and R2D2 piloted her here at my command."

Han stared up at the black mask for a _very _long moment and then began hyperventilating.

"C-3PO. That ... that irritating pile of scrap metal. You ... even you ... you can't be ... this can't be ..."

"Here, Solo," Ahsoka said with a straight face, and handed the Corellian a paper bag she scrounged from somewhere. "Sit down and breathe in, breathe out. You're getting too much oxygen."

"She looks fine, Han," Leia said soothingly, fighting a smile. "I mean, really, I have to admit I am surprised at how well she looks. I didn't think the droids could fly the _Falcon._"

"That little garbage can droid and that gold plated nuisance. She could have ended up hypering through a star. Absolutely incredible she didn't ...," Han continued to mumble into his bag.

"There is nothing incredible about it," Vader replied firmly. "R2D2 has substantial experience with piloting, and I programmed C-3PO as an able copilot."

"How'd you do that?" Luke asked curiously, splitting his attention between his distressed friend, an anxiously pacing Chewbacca, and his father. "I would have thought you'd need override codes to install new programming. Threepio's a protocol droid, after all, and hasn't displayed any remarkable mechanical prowess on my watch."

The Sith hesitated briefly, "Anakin built him."

The Rebels collectively gasped, and Ahsoka groaned, "Honestly, Skyguy, this habit you have of referring to yourself in third person is getting tedious. _You _built him, on Tatooine, as a child of 9."

Darth Vader clasped his hands behind his back and took an agitated step back, "Anakin Skywalker is dead."

He avoided looking at his son, though he sensed his sorrow through the Force. His daughter merely glared at him.

(He was thankful indeed that he'd noted her distress a few minutes previously and had been able to pull her out of the nightmarish memories of his own making. He would never forgive himself for torturing the daughter of his angel on the Death Star ...)

"So," Leia remarked in an overly dramatic, and thus rather snarky, tone, "Anakin Skywalker is dead, and only Darth Vader remains. But Darth Vader wishes to claim me and my twin as his children."

Vader clenched his teeth, almost relishing the pain that shot through his jaw and into the scarred tissue of his face. He stared back at his defiant offspring for a long moment and his shoulder slumped slightly.

"I will confess, my daughter, that I am not quite certain who I am now."

She opened her mouth, no doubt to say something biting, but Tano (mercifully) interrupted their conversation.

"Vader!" she said, looking to the front of the ship.

The Dark Lord turned in surprise, then frowned. He had been so caught up in interacting with his children that he'd not noticed the arrival of sentients outside the ship.

"Someone approaches," he intoned, striding toward the exit. "Stay here."

"Not a chance," Leia snapped. "Did you even tell the Naberries you were coming?"

"No."

"Then I'm coming with you. I know Pooja Naberrie, at least. The last thing we need is for blaster bolts to start flying around."

Vader sighed at his children's amazing capacity to ignore his directives, but sensibly decided to overlook it. He was hardly Leia's father, really, except in a biological sense. And she had withstood hours of interrogation at his hands. She was far too stubborn and determined to obey his random orders.

He descended the ramp of the _Amidala_ and promptly encountered a tide of blaster bolts from four men who were standing ten meters away. He lifted on gauntleted hand to deflect them, then yanked the weapons out of the men's hands.

"Pooja! It's me, Leia Organa!"

And his crazy daughter had rushed out right into the line of fire ...

"Leia!?" the dark haired woman exclaimed, hesitating with her own blaster partially removed from a holster. "What ... what's going on?"

Leia stopped and lifted placating hands, "It's a very complicated situation, Pooja, but don't worry, he won't harm you."

She turned now and speared her biological progenitor with a fierce glance, "Isn't that right, Lord Vader?"

He lowered his own hand and bowed his head slightly, "No harm will come to you or your men, Senator Naberrie, so long as you do not attempt to attack my ... attack Princess Leia."

There was no reason to confuse the situation even more by discussing the extremely complex family issues out in the open like this.

"Master Luke, Master Luke!"

Luke smiled slightly and turned to see C-3PO totter down the ramp of the _Millennium Falcon_, followed by a smugly beeping R2D2.

"Master Luke, oh my! I cannot tell you how difficult this mission was. I'm only a droid, not a co-pilot. I'm afraid R2 made an error and we almost bumped into an artificial satellite ...!"

"You _what_?!" Solo snarled, stalking angrily towards the protocol droid, who took a few steps back, his arms waving frantically.

"My sincere apologies, Captain Solo," the protocol droid said, his voice growing more distressed. "We did not in fact make contact with the object. I merely wished to say that I find this kind of job outside my normal capabilities and programming."

"Han," Leia suggested gently. "Can you please check out the _Falcon_ with Chewbacca? Pooja, can you leave one of your men to guide our friends to Varykino when they are done? You and I need to talk, immediately and privately."

The woman stared at Leia, then at Luke, then at Ahsoka, then finally at Vader.

"And ... Lord Vader is coming with us?" she asked with a lift of one eyebrow.

Leia nodded and twisted her lips, "Yes, I'm afraid he is."

/-

Pooja Naberrie led Vader, his children, and his former padawan into a stately receiving room, decorated in tans and greens, in the east wing of the estate. The Sith was grateful as it was not a room he'd ever entered before; it held no memories of when he was still young and mostly whole, when his sweet Padme lived and breathed and loved.

"Please, sit down," Pooja said with a welcoming gesture towards the couch and chairs. She had obviously put her diplomatic vest on, and had plastered a pleasant, if remote, expression onto her face.

Luke and Leia sat down next to one another on the couch, Ahsoka took a nearby chair, and Vader loomed near the door. He sensed no other sentient nearby, but he needed to keep danger_ out_ and his children _in_.

"So Pooja, before we start, are any of your other family in residence here?" Leia asked gravely.

Pooja frowned and shook her head, "My parents are with Grandma Jobal in Theed today. My grandmother is having some tests done as she's been battling significant health problems.

Leia nodded carefully, then leaned forward. "Thank you for clarifying that. Let me start with introductions. You know Lord Vader, of course."

"Yes," Naberrie responded drily.

"Ahsoka Tano is sitting on the chair. Until yesterday, she was imprisoned on Tibrin in an Imperial facility. To my right is Luke Skywalker, a pilot and ... well, one of my best friends."

Pooja had been frowning intently, but this caused her to raise both eyebrows.

"Luke Skywalker?" she asked, shifting her gaze to the youth. "Any relation to Anakin Skywalker?"

"My father," Luke said huskily, with a quick glance at Vader.

The former Senator from Naboo gasped softly and shook her head, "This is ... this is amazing! I have to admit that when I saw you, I felt like you resembled someone I knew when I was a child. You do look so much like your father!"

Luke and Leia both started slightly and the princess's eyes widened, "I didn't realize you knew Anakin Skywalker! Surely you must have been very young!"

Pooja smiled a little, and glanced nervously at Vader before turning her eyes back to her friend, "Very young, yes. He was here guarding my aunt Padme, and my sister and I were little children. But he was very kind to us. I had no idea that he had a son!"

"Senator Naberrie," Luke replied gently, "your aunt Padme was my mother."

Pooja stared at him for a full minute in frozen shock.

When she had recovered sufficiently, she shook her head hard and straightened her spine, "That's impossible. I was there at her funeral and ... and she died with her child unborn."

"The Jedi faked that aspect of her death," Vader rumbled. Luke shot him an uneasy glance. More and more, he was able to sense his father's emotional state, and he knew that his mother's death was an extremely delicate subject.

Pooja gazed at Luke, "How can you be sure?"

"We found a holo, Senator," Luke explained gently. "Padme gave birth to me and my twin sister before she died in childbirth."

"Sister!" the woman exclaimed.

"I am Luke's sister, Pooja," Leia continued softly, putting out her hand to touch her brother's left hand. "I know this is a huge shock, but Padme is our mother and you are our first cousin and your mother and father are our aunt and uncle and your grandma Jobal is our grandmother as well. I was adopted by the Organas after Padme died, and Luke was adopted by a family on Tatooine. "

Pooja's brain was petrified for another long minute, and when she recovered she was aware her mouth was gaping open like a particularly hungry colo claw fish.

"I ... I ...," she stuttered, not knowing what to say.

Leia's expression was one of compassion and understanding, "I know all this is nearly beyond belief. We would, of course, be glad to perform a genetic test to prove our claim."

Pooja pulled herself together with immense difficulty, "Yes, our family will need that proof, although ..."

Here she paused, took a deep breath, and leaned forward to fix her eye on her former senatorial colleague.

"I do believe you, Leia," Pooja stated, tears forming in her eyes. "The very first time I met you, you reminded me of Aunt Padme. I just assumed it was some weird coincidence."

"We all attended her funeral procession through the streets of Theed," she continued as her voice dropped barely above a whisper. "She was so beautiful in her white casket drawn by four gualaar, with her dark hair around her shoulders, flowers entwined, with her face serene. It was like she was just sleeping. I was so young, I hoped, I believed, I dreamed that any moment she'd open her eyes ..."

Her sorrowful thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a large vase next to her falling off and smashing on the floor, sending small shards scattering. A moment later, she was stunned to realize the entire room was shaking.

What was this? An earthquake? Some kind of military attack?

"Skyguy!" Ahsoka yelped, leaping to her feet and rushing over to Vader, whose mask was fixed on Pooja's face, whose cyborg body was rigid with anguish.

"Father!" Luke called out, also jumping up. "Father, stop! You'll bring down the house!"

Pooja's terror was suddenly accompanied by bewilderment, confusion, and horror.

"Father?" she whispered to herself.

_Author Note: In _Shadows of the Empire_ by Steve Perry, C-3PO and R2D2 fly the _Millennium Falcon_. I watched Padme's funeral to write the end of this chapter and oh, the feels. Such a sad scene._


	8. Chapter 8

_Alcove_

_East Wing_

_Varykino_

_Naboo_

_20 minutes later_

To her alarm, Pooja Naberrie was rocking slightly in her chair. When she was young and unhappy, she used to curl up on her bed and rock and rock and rock. She'd given up that rather oddball habit in her teens, and to find herself doing it again meant that she was ... stressed.

Yes, stressed. Legitimately so.

"I'm sorry," she murmured to Leia, who was sitting on the chair next to her in the small alcove. The house was no longer shaking, which was a relief. But Vader was still in the receiving room where Pooja had learned that Uncle Ani had become ...

"It's all right," Leia said aloud, her tone sympathetic. "I've known the truth for a few weeks now and I am still struggling."

The other woman gazed at her in compassion. Darth Vader was, at least, merely her uncle, not her father.

(Darth. Vader. Was. Her. Uncle. Crazy.)

A door slid open and R-2P3 stepped briskly into the room carrying a tray. Pooja smiled at him and reached out a hand. In the middle of Force frenzies and bewildering family revelations, it was a comfort that her protocol droid would come through with drinks. She took the cup of tarine tea and gestured to her friend, her _cousin_, to do the same.

"So I'd like to do a quick sum up," Pooja said, taking a sip of tea and forcing her body to still. "Anakin Skywalker secretly married my aunt Padme at the beginning of the Clone Wars."

"Yes," Leia agreed.

"A couple of years later, Aunt Padme got pregnant."

"Yes."

"Anakin Skywalker began having dreams of his wife dying in childbirth ..."

"Yes."

"And instead of deciding that he had just eaten some elderly bantha meat or something, he came to the conclusion that the only way to save her from her hypothetical death was to join Palpatine, turn on the Jedi, and become a murderous Sith Lord."

Leia glanced briefly at the closed door of the room where her biological father was presumably recovering from his fit, then turned to face Pooja directly.

"It wasn't quite that simple," the princess replied softly. "It's ... difficult to talk to Vader, for obvious reasons, but in the past weeks we learned that he had vivid dreams of his own mother dying on Tatooine when he was 19 years of age. Anakin initially ignored his dreams at the recommendation of his master, who also felt that his visions were the product of anxiety or, as you say, bad food. But eventually Anakin and Padme rushed to Tatooine because the dreams persisted. His mother had indeed been abducted by a local tribal group and she did die in her son's arms, in a way that corresponded exactly to Anakin's dreams."

Pooja paled slightly, "You're saying ... you're saying he is able to see the future in his dreams."

Leia shrugged, "Apparently some of the time, anyway. He dreamt his mother died, and she did. He dreamt that Padme died in childbirth, and she did. Though it could be argued that his own actions were the catalyst for his wife's death."

The Nubian senator's eyes widened, "Did he ... did he hurt her?"

Leia's face tightened, "Yes. They argued over his decision to pledge himself to Palpatine, which was not surprising. I don't know much about Padme, but I think she was devoted to democracy."

Leia's tone was wistful, and Pooja spoke up quickly, "She was, Leia. I assure you. Her legacy has been altered and suppressed by the Empire but my mother Sola has told me of her. She had a vast love for the peoples of the galaxy. She would have never supported a despot like Palpatine."

Organa blinked back tears and continued determinedly, "Anakin had become Vader by then, consumed by the Dark Side, though he was not in the life support suit yet. He choked her with the Force."

Pooja's eyes widened in distress, "And she was pregnant?"

"Yes, with Luke and me."

"How could he?" Naberrie muttered, then raised her voice slightly. "How could he?"

Again, Leia glanced at the closed door down the hall, and then she leaned forward to take Pooja's hands in her own small ones.

"I hate Vader," Organa said in a low voice, "and there is no excuse for what he did. None. But we have a holo that shows it wasn't Vader's attack that killed her. We don't know what did. The med droids said she lost the will to live. And there is no doubt that he is deeply, deeply affected by her death. I am not sure how much he regrets of the past twenty years, but he ... he regrets harming Padme. He loved her passionately."

Pooja opened her mouth to protest this statement. Any man who loved his wife could not do such a thing! But then she stopped herself. Leia was of Alderaan, a planet destroyed by the Empire. Leia was the daughter of Darth Vader. There was no need to belabor the point that Vader's actions had been cruel, vicious, unconscionable.

"So then what happened?" she asked with a sigh.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi Knight and Anakin Skywalker's master, had stowed away on Padme's ship. He emerged from the ship, which precipitated the Force attack on Padme, and he and Vader fought a lightsaber battle. Kenobi defeated Vader and left him to burn to death on the shores of a lava river, apparently. He was burned horribly but survived when Palpatine came to rescue him. When Vader regained consciousness in that life support suit, Palpatine assured him that Padme and the child had died at Vader's hand."

Her cousin winced and shook her head, "That was cruel."

"Cruel indeed," Leia responded drily. "But a very effective manipulation, too. I'm inferring from nuances of speech and tone, which is difficult with that vocoder of his, but I think the loss of his wife and child, and the guilt of believing he had killed them, pushed Vader to complete devotion to the Emperor and the Empire. Again, I can't understand the way his mind works. I can't fathom what he has done. But the death of his family was clearly devastating to Vader, which is ... it seems odd for a Sith Lord committed to the Dark Side of the Force."

Pooja waved an impatient hand, "I don't understand this Force stuff. It's insane that ... well, never mind that. So am I right that no one knew Aunt Padme was carrying twins?"

Leia rolled her eyes, "Yes. Hard to believe that they didn't know our mother was pregnant with twins but ... yes."

Her friend blew air out of her pursed lips and relaxed slightly, "Ok. So fast forward a couple of decades or so. What brought you here to Varykino?"

"Well," Leia responded, "Luke was raised on Tatooine by Anakin Skywalker's stepbrother and his wife. My father Bail ..."

She broke off and took a deep breath, "Bail tasked me to retrieve the Death Star plans from Scarif and proceed to Tatooine to get help from Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was hiding on the planet watching over Luke. Luke's family found the droids with the Death Star plans after I was captured by the Empire. Luke and Kenobi fled Tatooine after Luke's relatives were slain by stormtroopers, and Luke and Han and Chewbacca rescued me from the Death Star. We retreated to the Rebel base on Yavin, the Death Star followed us, and Luke fired the shot that destroyed the Death Star."

Pooja gasped aloud, "Your brother destroyed the Death Star?!"

"Yes. As our friend Han says, it was a one in a million shot. Actually, probably worse odds than that. It was a brilliant shot. Luke saved us all as the Death Star was within seconds of destroying Yavin."

Again, Leia blinked back tears. She really was very emotional today, "We tried to keep Luke's identity secret from the Empire since we knew that would paint a giant target on his back. But four months ago, Vader's spies uncovered Luke's name. He figured out that his son was still alive and came to the reasonable conclusion that Palpatine had manipulated and lied to him. So Vader sabotaged a piece of medical equipment, which killed the Emperor, and then he disappeared to Hoth, where Luke and I, along with our companions, were unfortunate enough to encounter him during a Rebel mission."

Pooja had thought she was beyond being amazed again, but she had been wrong.

"Wait, Vader killed Palpatine? I thought it was natural causes."

"He says he did, and I don't think he's lying about it. He says he sabotaged some medical equipment and the Emperor died from nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream. A nasty death, apparently."

"Good," Pooja said coldly. She had loathed the Empire for a long time, but now that she knew what Anakin Skywalker had become, she hated him even more.

"Don't you dare touch her again, Goldenrod!" Han Solo said loudly, striding abruptly around a corner. "I mean that. You. Don't. Touch. Her!"

"Really, Captain Solo," Threepio protested in distress, "I was merely trying to help your ship to communicate. After all, I am fluent in over six million forms of communication and even I can't understand the _Falcon_ at times. It bewilders me how you, a mere human, could possibly comprehend her obscure verbiage."

"I am entirely capable of comprehending the _Falcon_," Solo barked back, veins throbbing in his forehead. "Or I could, anyway. Now that you've overlaid some insane translation program who knows what she is trying to say to me? Just keep your mechanical hands off of her, is that clear?

"Threepio," Leia interrupted, knowing that continuing this argument might result in Han's hands around the droid's metallic neck, "why don't you accompany R-2P3 to, uh, get a full check up. And maybe an oil bath?"

"Oh Mistress Leia, that would be so pleasant!" the droid exclaimed with a grateful bow to the Princess. "My joints are nearly unmovable from neglect."

R-2P3 gestured and the two droids left, leaving Han Solo to lean against the wall, muttering imprecations.

"I'm sorry, Han," Leia said, though her lips quivered slightly with amusement.

He opened one eye and rolled it dramatically, "The_ Falcon_ has the most exhaustive, the very _best_, nav charts in the entire galaxy. I mean that. She did the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs. And now that golden annoyance has messed with her. I just ... I just can't."

"Chewie can probably fix her," Organa said soothingly.

"Yeah, I'm sure he can," Solo said with a deep sigh.

"I'm Pooja Naberrie," Pooja said, stepping forward to shake his hand. "I don't believe we were properly introduced."

"Han Solo."

"Han is a Corellian smuggler and cocky hot shot pilot," Leia explained an affectionate smile. "He saved my life more than once, and Luke's too."

"It's nice to meet you," Pooja replied, eying the dark haired male with interest.

A door slid open behind him, and Leia lifted her gaze to focus it on her twin.

"Luke, how is ... _he_?" she asked.

Luke Skywalker nodded at Han and shrugged, "He's stopped breaking things."

"That's good," Solo replied drily. "Why was he breaking things in the first place?"

"I ... I talked about Aunt Padme's funeral," Pooja explained carefully. "I was only a child at the time and it was an epochal experience. Anyway, I didn't realize that Vader was once Anakin Skywalker and ..."

"Father kind of flipped out," Luke continued. "He started destroying the room in a tempest of distress. But as I said, he's calmed down and Ahsoka is talking to him. I'm sorry, Pooja."

She waved an irritable hand, "It's Ok, Luke. It's just stuff. If it's all right with you all, I'd like to contact my parents to let them know they should come back here as quickly as possible."

The twins exchanged quick glances.

"Can you ask them to come but not tell them why?" Leia asked carefully. "Much as I am loathe to agree with Vader, I have to admit the situation is quite ... volatile, and it is best we sort out the family madness without either the Empire or the Alliance storming in."

"So you don't want to leave?" Han asked, frowning. "If we can, I mean?"

Luke bit his lip and shook his head, "I don't, anyway. I've always wanted to know my father. Leia, if you and Han want to leave, I totally understand."

"_Can_ we leave?" his sister asked practically.

Han snarled in Huttese and Luke flinched at his venom.

"No," the Corellian snapped, switching to Basic. "He's got the _Falcon_'s control systems tied into R2D2 and 3PO. I can't get control of her."

"Do you have any hyperspace ready ships, Pooja?" Leia asked.

Her cousin shook her head, "I'm sorry, Leia. No. We have airships for commuting off the island of Varykino, but nothing spaceworthy."

The younger woman heaved a sigh, "Ok, for now we are stuck here."

"Why_ are_ you here?" Pooja asked practically.

Leia shrugged, "Beats me."

/

"So why did you bring your twins here, Skyguy?" Ahsoka asked curiously.

Darth Vader placed his mechanical hands on the balustrade of the balcony overlooking the lake, even as he shifted his mask to gaze at the tree under which, a lifetime ago, Anakin Skywalker had married Padme Amidala Naberrie.

"Skyguy?" the Togruta prompted.

The Sith turned to face his former apprentice, "The children deserve the love of family, Ahsoka. I am incapable of providing that, but the Naberries are fine people and will envelop Luke and Leia in the comfort of family devotion that they deserve."

"Why are you incapable of providing love to your children?" the woman inquired with a lift of one eyebrow.

Vader didn't even answer verbally. He merely gestured at his fearsome appearance and then turned back toward the lake.

"That's not an answer."

"You are stubborn and disrespectful, Ahsoka, as you always were."

Ahsoka slipped forward and leaned against the railing such that Vader could see her (barely) in his peripheral vision.

"You obviously loved Padme," she mused.

There was a sudden shake of the balcony under her feet, and she poked her former master with the Force.

"Calm down, Skyguy. You did love her. Why is that a problem?"

"The weak man that was Anakin Skywalker loved in an emotional way. He failed to keep her safe. I am not that man. I seek to protect the twins because they are my children and they are all that is left of Padme. But I am not ... I cannot be ..."

He trailed away, and Ahsoka sighed.

"I can see I have a lot of work to do here," she mused aloud.

_Author Note: Many kudos to my beloved and wonderful husband who is nobly editing two stories right now. Thanks, honey!_


	9. Chapter 9

_Author Note: My heartfelt apology for the very long delay in updating this fanfic. I got caught up writing other fanfiction!_

_Northwest Sitting Room_

_Varykino_

_Naboo_

_Two hours later_

"_Obi-Wan, there is good in him. I know ... there is still ..."_

The holovid showed Padme fall back against the bed as her beautiful eyes closed forever in death. A moment later, R2D2 turned it off, leaving only the sounds of Sola Naberrie sobbing.

Pooja Naberrie also had tears in her eyes, but she focused on her mother.

"I'm sorry, Mom," she murmured as she placed her arms around the older woman. "I'm so sorry."

Sola shook her head fiercely and lifted her face to stare at Luke and Leia, who were seated on a nearby couch with their faces drawn in sorrow.

"No," she proclaimed. "No. I mourned Padme for decades. These are tears of joy. My precious sister left behind two wonderful children."

Sola stood up now and walked over to the couch, kneeled, and carefully grasped Leia's right hand and Luke's left hand.

"I am so grieved that you never knew Padme. She would have been a wonderful mother. But I have followed your career, Leia, without knowing that you are my niece. I see in you all that Padme was, and more. And Luke ..."

She turned and smiled through her tears, "You look so much like Anakin but while I don't know much about you at all, I see Padme's loving spirit in your face and eyes."

Leia slipped down onto the floor and gave her aunt a strong hug.

"Thank you, Aunt Sola," she replied, and found that her eyes were weepy. "Thank you. I ... I have known about our relationship for a long time but I was afraid to tell anyone ..."

"And I guess you were right," Darred, Pooja's father and Sola's husband, stated grimly. "If Anakin really did become Darth Vader ..."

"He did," Leia grated out, rising to her feet, her face now set with displeasure. "I don't know what he was like before but he's a monster now."

"But I think kind of a confused one," Luke continued doubtfully. "He's, uh, apparently really committed to taking care of us."

"He's obsessed with keeping us safe," Leia snapped. "I mean, I love meeting you all at last, but this is an insane situation. I'm a high level member of the Rebel Alliance, Luke is the leader of Rogue Squadron, and Vader has basically taken over Varykino and made it into a very nice prison or something. What are we supposed to do here?"

Solo, who had been standing quietly in the corner in the midst of all this family mushiness, spoke for the first time.

"Well, I have an idea about that."

/

_The beach_

_An hour later..._

"I feel ridiculous," Leia stated with a grimace, glancing down at her body encased in an aqua swimsuit which her cousin had lent her.

"Leia, you look lovely," Pooja replied firmly. "And trust me, the waters of Lake Varykino are clean, soothing, and beautiful. You look like you could use some relaxation and a swim will be just the thing. Your friend Solo is entirely right."

Leia glanced down the beach ten meters, where Han was giving Luke an impromptu swimming lesson, "I just feel like we should be doing something useful, you know?"

"Leia."

The princess turned towards Ahsoka, who was seated on a lounge chair wrapped in a blanket. Her bony legs stuck out from under the blanket, and Leia gave a slight shiver at how thin the Togruta was. Rebels didn't eat well, but they ate. It was obvious that Tano had been starved during her time in Imperial custody.

"Yes, Ahsoka?" she inquired, walking over to sit down on the chair next to the former Jedi padawan.

Ahsoka smiled wryly as her eyes fixed on Leia's face, "I've had a lot of time to think in the last 20 years since the Empire rose to power. Back during the Clone Wars, we were always busy, always fighting, always dealing with the latest crisis. The only time we rested was when we'd been injured and had to spend time in the healing rooms of the Jedi Temple. At some level, I actually liked being injured."

Leia frowned at this and then nodded slightly, "You know, I got sick with Balmorra flu 6 months ago and as miserable as I was, there was some ... peace in just being allowed to quarantine myself and sleep."

Tano tilted her head, her montrals shifting, "Besides that illness, when was the last time you truly relaxed, Leia?"

The girl closed her eyes for a minute and when she opened them again, they were wet.

"Three years ago. My parents ... my parents and I went to a lodge in the mountains of Alderaan for a week. It was wonderful ..."

"I'm sorry, Leia," Pooja murmured.

Organa sighed, "I think maybe I see what you are saying, Ahsoka. When people rush around, when they are in constant motion, they don't have time to think, to step back and analyze situations properly."

"I am saying that. I'm also saying that eventually the body or the mind, or even both, give out. Everyone needs to rest sometimes. You're right, Vader's weird and obsessive and we don't know what he is going to do. Honestly, I don't think _he _knows what he is going to do. But right here, right now, you are with friends and family. Take the time to relax, Leia."

Leia considered and nodded dubiously, "Ok, I'll try."

A shout from down the beach had all the women turning their heads. Luke was sputtering and laughing, and Solo was yelling in false outrage, "Kid, you can't breathe underwater. Water is for swimming or drinking, not breathing!"

Pooja chuckled, "Your brother is pretty cute."

Leia shot her a dangerous look and the Senator lifted placating hands, "I mean, cute about the water. Not cute as in ... cute. Though he is cute."

Now Ahsoka had joined Leia in the menacing glare department and Pooja flinched back a little more, "Don't be ridiculous! I'm 7 years older than him, and he's my first cousin. I'm not interested in him! I mean, he's good looking but he's like the little brother I never had, if I suddenly discovered that I had a random little brother. I mean ..."

"Just don't," Leia interrupted, chuckling, "I get it. Seriously, though ..."

Her expression grew solemn now.

"I met Luke on the Death Star, not counting sharing a womb, of course. I was just sitting in that drab cell waiting to be executed unpleasantly and the door slid open and there was this short stormtrooper who took off his helmet and said '_I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you._' He and Han and Chewbacca had come up with a totally half fried plan to rescue me and we did manage to get out of the cell block, and off the Death Star, though Obi-Wan Kenobi sacrificed himself to save us by keeping Vader busy. And then the next day the Death Star followed us to Yavin IV and the Rebel base, and Luke went up in an X-wing for the first time in his life and destroyed the Death Star and saved us all."

She looked over at her twin now, who was now neck deep in water and grinning enthusiastically, and her expression grew fond, "Two days later we were evacuating the base and Luke had a break for a few minutes. I followed him outside to talk to him, to thank him again for what he had done for us all, and I found him at the edge of a tiny pool of water. It couldn't have been more than 2 meters across and just 20 centimeters deep. And he was just in awe. He had never seen naturally standing water before. He was 19 years old, and he had never seen a place where water was readily available, where it didn't have to be coaxed from an unforgiving atmosphere."

"Tatooine is a harsh planet," Darth Vader stated.

Leia only flinched a little. She had indeed heard her neurotic biological father approaching but had mostly been ignoring it.

Which was progress.

"Yes, it is," she agreed. "Tatooine breeds ... toughness, I guess. I think I'm pretty tough, but I grew up privileged and I know it. Luke's kind and honorable and noble but he's not naïve. He's seen things that I haven't. He's lived hardship beyond what I really understand. He really is amazing."

"Indeed," Vader said, even as the behemoth took a few steps down the beach toward where Luke and Han were cavorting in the water.

Leia turned and scowled at her estranged Sith Daddy, "Relax, Han won't let him drown."

"Luke will not drown," Vader replied coldly, "because I will not permit it or any other harm to come to him or you."

Leia groaned and rolled her eyes.

/-

_Naberrie Drawing Room_

_Varykino_

_Naboo_

_Midnight_

"Eat this, Snips," Vader ordered.

Ahsoka, who was slumped bonelessly on a couch, obediently took the proffered bowl and stared at it with uncertainty, "So what is this, exactly?"

"Blue milk pudding with added protein powder."

The female Togruta's face scrunched up with distaste and she shook her head, "I hate blue milk, Skyguy."

"Eat it anyway," the Sith Lord ordered sternly. "Blue milk pudding is easy on the stomach but will also provide necessary nutrients. You are half starved, Ahsoka. You need calories."

"I'm touched by your concern," she commented snidely.

The great armored shoulders shrugged self-consciously, "You must train my twins, Snips. You won't be able to guide and instruct them unless you are at full strength."

"I am not certain I'll be able to keep up even at full strength," Tano said with a chuckle even if she shoveled a reluctant bite of blue pudding into her mouth. "They are quite a pair."

"Yes, they are," Vader replied, attempting, and failing, to keep the pride from his tone.

Ahsoka took another bite and her face screwed up, "This is disgusting stuff. Any chance I can pawn it off on you, Master?"

Vader stiffened at the term but he shook his head, "I exist entirely on protein pastes and medication, my old padawan. I cannot eat normally at all."

Ahsoka winced at these words even as a new voice spoke from the doorway.

"So tell me about your health issues, Anakin," Sola requested as she took a sip from the cup of tea in her hand.

"That name no longer has any meaning for me."

The woman waved an irritable hand, "Well, you did answer to it ... but whatever. Vader then. Tell me about the life support."

Vader shot her an angry glance which would have made his underlings flinch, groan, or possibly fall unconscious in fear.

Sola was extremely unimpressed, "You are a guest in my home, Lord Vader. I'd like to know what I can do to make you comfortable. You spoke of protein pastes and you live in a life support suit. Do you need anything in particular from us?"

"Why would you care?" he demanded incredulously.

Sola took a few steps forward and tilted her head up to look into the terrifying mask, "Anakin, Padme loved you to the ends of the galaxy. You are my brother-in-law. You are also, for better or worse, the biological father of my niece and nephew."

"Mostly for worse," Ahsoka muttered, _sotto voce._

"I applaud your desire to keep the twins safe," the older woman continued serenely. "You insist that Ahsoka regain her strength so she can teach and train them. I would argue that your health is also important in keeping them guarded in a bewildered and violent galaxy."

Vader growled softly enough that the noise wasn't picked up by the vocoder. He strode over to the nearest window and stared out at the lake, which shimmered in the light of Veruna, Naboo's third moon.

"Nothing can be done for me physically," the cyborg pronounced. "I was burned over 100% of my body. My organs were damaged, my lungs nearly destroyed by lava. I am kept alive only through machinery and my own will. But believe me when I say that I regardless of my physical health, I will keep Luke and Leia safe."

"And all the doctors agree that you are damaged beyond repair?" Leia asked, stepping into the room. Vader flinched in surprise. His daughter shielded _ridiculously_ well for an untrained Force user.

"Couldn't sleep?" Sola inquired her sympathetically.

"No, I couldn't," Leia replied wryly. "I can sleep through explosions but something is croaking outside my window and keeping me awake."

"Paddy frogs," her aunt explained. "I'm sorry."

"It's Ok," Leia commented with an offhand shrug. "Lord Vader. Doctors. Have you talked to them."

"There is no need," he protested. "The Emperor had the very best med droids attend to me after my ... after Mustafar. Nothing can be done."

The three women in the room stared at him incredulously, then exchanged thoughtful glances.

"You don't think you deserve any improvement in your health," Ahsoka asserted even as she rolled to her feet to stalk closer to her former mentor. "It isn't that you don't think anything can be done; you believe that it would be wrong for you to receive healing. Why?"

Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, did not appreciate this. In the past decades, only Palpatine had been able to read him and he had never expressed concern, only a desire for domination.

"My reasons are my own," he declared.

"Listen, Vader," Leia riposted, her fine eyes flashing. "I don't like you. In fact, I hate you. But reality is that if nothing else, you are a valuable asset. You killed Palpatine and that is good. There is much more you can do to bring peace to this galaxy. You want to keep us safe? Being healthier would assist in that. And while you will never be my true father, you are the father Luke has always longed to know. Don't be an idiot. What's the problem with at least consulting an updated med droid who isn't under Palpatine's control?"

He turned away from all three again and he looked outside again and his hands clenched the window sill so tightly that the wood bent slightly.

"I attacked her and she died. I lived when I should have died and she died when she should have lived. I do not ... I do not deserve ..."

"I see," Leia stated, this time with a hint of compassion in her voice.

"It's stupid," Ahsoka remarked bluntly. "It's reasonable to feel guilt, but allowing yourself to be weak and in pain now because of what you did even though healing may be possible is dumb. Sola, can you arrange to have Lord Vader be seen by a med droid?"

Sola nodded, "Certainly. Tomorrow morning, perhaps, since it is so late now?"

"Perfect," Leia agreed.

"There is nothing that can ..." Vader began, then subsided under the combined glare of the three females in the room.

It appeared that like it or not, he would be seen by a med droid.

/-

_Author Note: Darling editor of a husband, thank you! Those of you who had to re-read this story because it has been SO long since I updated, my apologies and thanks to you as well for sticking with me on this fanfic._


	10. Chapter 10

_The _Amidala

_Varykino_

_Naboo_

_The next morning_

Darth Vader felt the anxiety coiling in his damaged stomach as he stared at the med droid twitching into position in his hyperbaric chamber. This was ridiculous and foolish and unwise and why had he agreed to this medical analysis? Why? (Surely he wasn't being overly influenced by three women, even if those women were his sister-in-law, his daughter, and his former padawan.) The chamber was larger than usual on the_ Amidala_ and the droid would fit (if barely), but while he was in the chamber he would be unable to oversee his offspring and their family and friends.

Would they attempt to flee? Or even kill him? He'd be vulnerable with his helmet off.

No, he knew (even through healthy paranoia) that his son was sincerely attached to him at some level. Luke would not allow Leia (his estranged daughter) to murder him in cold blood. Or cold machinery. He did have blood, just not enough. He was more machine now than man.

He sighed and closed his eyes, reaching out through the Force. His senses met with no threats. Varykino was peaceful, the individuals residing therein were stressed and disturbed but not hostile. Though ...

Luke was upset and approaching. Vader turned toward the door of the _Amidala_ and was unsurprised when his son appeared a minute later, his face dark with concern, his Force sense tumultuous.

"What is wrong, my son?" the Sith demanded urgently. He knew the Rebels were keeping things from him (naturally enough) and if Luke was this upset, perhaps there _was_ immediate danger.

"Leia told me she called you an asset," Luke blurted out in return, his expression contrite. "She didn't mean it _that_ way."

Vader blinked behind his mask and then shook his head self-consciously. Those words had indeed pricked him. Nevertheless ...

"Your sister has suffered greatly at my hands," the cyborg replied heavily. "It is reasonable that her speech would be hostile."

Luke frowned, "Hostile, yes, but she truly didn't think about how that came out. She's a Core Worlder. They didn't have open slavery on Alderaan. She just doesn't think about how it is to be considered property. I'm sorry."

The father stared gravely at the son, "But you do think about it."

The youth shrugged and looked downcast, "Of course I do. I was born free but Tatooine is ... well, you know what it is."

"I do," Vader replied coldly. Truly he would enjoy taking down the Hutts and the Wattos of that world. Maybe this idea of the twins was not so bad.

"You need not concern yourself about your sister. I pledge I will not harm her regardless of what she says to me."

Luke rolled his eyes at these words, "I'm not worried about that. Well, maybe a little. But I'm more worried about _you_. You're a person, not property. Not an asset."

(_I'm a person and my name is Anakin.)_

The Dark Lord gazed at his son's open, honest, kind face and his shoulders slumped, "To be honest, Luke, I have been regarded as an asset by most individuals in my life. Your mother was a blessed exception."

Luke looked discouraged, "Obi-Wan as well?"

The great fists tightened at these words and Luke flinched slightly.

"Kenobi as well," Vader replied coldly.

(_You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you!)_

Pain and sorrow and self-hatred and other hatred coiled in the Dark Lord's mind and he took a step back and turned away from his son.

"But it does not matter."

Luke was at his side now and the touched his arm boldly, his hand looking small on the black cyborg arm, "It matters to me, Father."

"Lord Vader," the med droid announced melodiously, "I am ready to conduct the appropriate medical analyses."

Luke and Vader jerked simultaneously in surprise.

"What is _that_?" the youth demanded in disbelief.

The Dark Lord scowled underneath his mask, "Apparently, this med droid is set with a calming, cheerful feminine voice. Most disagreeable."

"My apologies," the med droid replied in a deliberately sunny tone. "It is my role and function to soothe my patients. If you prefer, I can change my voice. I am fluent in more than 600 forms of basic communication and have 995 possible voice modules."

"How about a Huttese male?" Luke demanded snarkily.

"Bachooa krillana chi!" the med droid growled, its voice now a deep bass somewhat similar to Vader's vocoder.

"I love that one!" Luke exclaimed, chuckling openly.

"It is well enough," his father replied, and was surprised to realize his lips were curled in a genuine smile. "Let us proceed with this pointless exercise."

"I'll stay here and make sure you aren't interrupted," Luke proclaimed.

The droid's "Let'z boll!" was met with another chuckle ...

/-

_Garden_

_Varykino_

_Naboo_

"So how does one train to be a Jedi?" Leia asked curiously. "What's the methodology?"

Ahsoka Tano opened one eye lazily and glanced at the last princess of Alderaan. Solo, Organa, Chewbacca, Ahsoka, Sola, and Pooja had decided to retreat to this verdant landscape and enjoy the weather while Vader underwent his medical scans in the _Amidala_. It was a glorious day with blue skies, reasonable temperatures, fluffy clouds, and even the occasional flitting yellow-barred heliconian butterfly.

It was truly idyllic, and the contrast between her current locale and the dreary horrors of her recent prison cell were enough to make her wonder if she was in some kind of dream.

Or it would, if she wasn't as tough as bantha jerky. Her brain was just fine.

"Well," Ahsoka replied, leaning back in her chair and taking a sip of her fruity fizzy drink, "it was a long process. Like crazy long. Children started at age 2 or 3, generally. I did."

"Two or three? As in years old?" the princess asked in surprise. "That's so young!"

"The Jedi did searches for young Force sensitives," Tano explained. "It was considered a great honor to be a Jedi, and most parents willingly gave up their kids to the Jedi to be raised and trained. I was given up at such an early age that I don't remember life before the Jedi Temple."

Sola Naberrie shuddered noticeably, "I can't imagine giving up Pooja and Ryoo as little ones. But it is true they both underwent testing during early med checks as they were born before the Republic fell. Neither has a high midichlorian count."

"Would you have given us up if we had been Force sensitives?" Pooja asked, her brow furrowed

Sola sighed and closed her eyes for a long moment, "I don't know. We didn't have to make that decision. I would argue it was considered not just an honor, but a duty to send young Force sensitives to be trained. The Jedi were the guardians of peace and justice and there were never quite enough of them. There would have been significant pressure to release our children to their care if they had proven to be sensitives."

"I'm glad we weren't, then," Pooja stated solemnly.

"So Anakin Skywalker was older, right?" Han pointed out. "I mean, you said he built that gold plated annoyance on Tatooine when he was 9 years old, so he presumably was taken to the Temple later?"

Ahsoka tilted her head to enjoy the sun's rays even as she nodded, "Yep. That was actually a huge problem. I was a lot younger so I wasn't aware of what was going on, but I heard later that Master Yoda had a fit when Master Jinn showed up with an older kid from Tatooine with a crazy high midichlorian count. He said Anakin shouldn't be trained 'cause he was too old and too attached to his mother."

"Master Yoda?" Leia asked curiously, rolling off her chair and kneeling down. She carefully yanked out a weed which had dared to poke its head out next to a red stalisti flower. The gardens here at Varykino were truly magnificent.

"Jedi Grand Master. Super old. Like 800 years old or something. He was a little guy."

Chewbacca, who was lying on the grass apparently napping, opened his eyes now and growled at some length.

"What? You never told me that, Chewie!"

More roaring.

Leia, who was back on her lawn chair, quirked an inquiring eyebrow at Solo.

"Chewie met Yoda on Kashyyyk," Solo explained solemnly. "Right at the end of the Clone Wars. He says he was a great warrior even though he was green with pointy ears and less than a meter in height."

"He trained most of the younglings at one time or another," Tano agreed with a nod of her head toward Chewbacca. "He was very strong, though set in his ways. I assume he died during Order 66."

More roaring.

"Chewie says 'no,'" Han murmured. "Says he survived the clone attack and flew off somewhere."

"Huh," Ahsoka replied, sitting up and grabbing a dweezel stick. She was still ridiculously thin but she had gained a kilogram of weight already and had progressed beyond blue milk pudding. She wouldn't mind if she never had another bowl of blue milk pudding for the rest of her life. Yuck.

"So he might be alive," she continued, chewing speculatively. "Not that I guess it matters right now. I'm guessing he and Vader would be like matter and antimatter if they got together, and Master Yoda would completely freak about you and Luke. He thought your father was old at 9. And you're 21 or so? He'd think you were way too aged for training."

Leia frowned and leaned forward intently, "Do you think we're too old for training, Ahsoka?"

The Togruta chewed, swallowed, and shook her head, "Absolutely not. Look, Anakin was incredible, absolutely incredible. He picked up stuff so fast that he was far more powerful than most of his same age companions by the time the Clone Wars started. You and Luke, if you have even half of his strength, will be able to learn quickly."

"But do we have his power?" Leia demanded. "I mean, I think Luke, yes. He hit that exhaust port with the Force without any training. But me? I'm a politician, not a warrior, though I'm actually a mean shot. It isn't clear I have any Force sensitivity at all."

"You do," Ahsoka said flatly. "You shield well, for one thing."

"Shield?"

"You block yourself with the Force in a way that is almost miraculous. You 'feel' normal in the Force, like a regular person instead of a Force Sensitive, but when I approach you mentally, there is a complex wall around your thoughts."

Leia frowned, "That must be why Vader couldn't dig the Rebel base out of my head."

"Yes," Ahsoka agreed, sadly.

Leia bit her lip and leaned back to stare above her. The wind had picked up slightly and the leaves of the tree above her shook gently in the wind.

"I'm not sure I want to be trained," she stated. "It doesn't seem like it was a good thing for Vader. He'd have been better off never being trained. The_ galaxy_ would have been better off if he'd stayed on Tatooine and lived and died as a slave."

"Don't say that to him," Han warned seriously.

Leia sat up and frowned, "Do you disagree?"

"Yeah, I disagree. Chewie was a slave, you know. No one should be property like that. Everyone deserves freedom and then they have to decide what to do with that freedom. Chewbacca has done great things as a free sentient. Vader apparently did wonderful things as Anakin Skywalker."

The human woman wilted at both the smuggler's tone and expression and she lifted a placating hand, "You're right, of course. I'm truly not ... rational, where Vader is concerned."

"That's understandable, Leia," Ahsoka replied in a soothing tone. "But please ... please don't let what happened to Skyguy discourage you. You have tremendous ability in the Force, Princess. You must do what you decide is right, of course, but you have the capacity to use your abilities for great good in the galaxy."

Leia chuckled softly, "That's quite a speech, both of you."

"Sometimes we amaze even ourselves, princess." Han said with a chuckle. "Hey, Tano, can I have another dweezel stick?"

_/_

_Main Cabin_

_The Amidala_

_5 hours later_

"So you're a pod wreck," Luke said gloomily.

"You could indeed state it in those terms," Vader agreed. "I told you that nothing could be done."

"That is not in fact true, Sir," the med droid stated. Luke had played with the voice options and now the droid sounded male and reassuring, which was better than female and cheery.

"You are showing considerable underlying infection and tissue reaction at the sites of your prosthetics, sir," the med droid continued. "There has been considerable improvement in prosthetics in the last two decades. Changes can and should be made. There are surgical and pharmaceutical procedures to assist you with your eyesight and spleen and liver function, again improvements since the Clone Wars. I will provide a thorough report in exactly 2 hours, 23 minutes, and there will be at least 42, possible 43, recommendations on medical procedures which will improve your state of health."

"See, Father, something can be done!"

/-

_Southeast Sitting Room_

_Varykino_

_This next day_

"I am going to talk to him," Leia stated doggedly, "whether you like it or not."

Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, took a quick turn at the end of the room and then paced its full length back as he struggled to control his temper. Why did his daughter persist in making unsafe, ridiculous demands?

"It is not safe," he finally said as he came to a halt, his tone long suffering through the vocoder. "He will tell the rest of the Alliance and our security here will be compromised."

Leia snorted aloud and took a bold step forward to tap her right index finger against the behemoth's breast plate.

"I trust him with my life," she snapped back. "He is reliable, faithful, and would never betray me. He is also very experienced. I don't trust you and while I do have confidence in everyone else here, none of them have known me for decades like he has."

"No," Vader intoned coldly.

"Yes," the princess replied just as fiercely.

They glared at each other.

/-

_Rebel Base_

_Jakku_

_6 hours later_

"General Rieekan."

Carlist Rieekan lifted his head and wearily rubbed his eyes with his left hand, "Yes?"

His aide's expression was an odd one, a mixture of trepidation and hope, "Sir, we have just received a transmission."

"From?"

"We are unable to determine the origin point of the transmission, Sir, but the designation code is that of ... of ..."

"Yes?" the general demanded impatiently.

"Princess Leia Organa, sir."

A pause.

"_What?!"_

/

_ Author Note: I feel like there wasn't much action in this chapter. Because there wasn't. A lot of this fic is about relationships and feelings and emotions and jazz like that. With some action mixed in occasionally._


	11. Chapter 11

_Author Note: Once again, my apologies for the long delay in updating. Truth is that I came close to just quitting this fanfic because I didn't see my way forward in the plot. Then a few days I got a rather crazy idea and I'm running with it. So yes, I should be able to start writing more consistently._

_Varykino Landing Area_

_6 days later_

The speeder gently came to rest and the canopy opened. Carlist Rieekan, native of destroyed Alderaan, General of the Rebel Alliance, quickly exited and clasped the waiting woman in his arms.

"Leia," he murmured in her ear. "Leia."

"Carlist," Leia replied with tears in her eyes. "I hoped you'd come personally even though I know you're needed elsewhere. Thank you."

"Or course I did."

The general backed up a step and scanned his young friend's face and form. Leia _looked _all right.

"Are you all right?" he demanded.

She nodded though her eyes were weary.

"I'm fine," she assured him with a gentle smile. "Physically, anyway. We have a lot to talk about. Luke, can you try to keep us from being interrupted?"

Rieekan jerked slightly in astonishment and glanced to the right. Standing a few paces away was young Luke Skywalker. The general's shoulders relaxed a little more. So he was accounted for as well, and seemed healthy enough.

"General," Skywalker acknowledged with a nod, and then walked toward a building where the Rieekan's driver was easing the speeder through a large door.

Rieekan watched with bewilderment as Skywalker quickly followed the speeder inside. The door slid shut behind him.

"Let's sit down over here, shall we?" Leia suggested, guiding her old friend to a bench which was placed to one side of the landing area. He followed obediently and sank onto the comfortable seat, which was shaded by a tree with ridiculously large leaves. In spite of the odd situation, he found himself relaxing. After months in space and on shabby Rebel bases, this place was a veritable paradise.

When he looked at Leia, she was gazing to the right. He followed her stare and discovered there was a sparkling lake in the distance. It was almost absurdly idyllic.

How had she and Skywalker ended up here?

As if she could hear his thoughts, she said, "I don't even know where to begin, Carlist."

"How about at the beginning?"

She smiled a little and pointed toward the large and stately building rising a few hundred meters away, "This is Varykino, the family estate of House Naberrie, a prominent family here on Naboo."

"I'm familiar with House Naberrie. Pooja Naberrie was an Imperial Senator until Palpatine dissolved the Senate, and a generation earlier a prominent politician named Padme Amidala was a Naberrie by birth."

Leia turned to face him now, and her eyes glimmered with unshed tears, "Padme was my birth mother."

He sucked in a startled breath at this even as his brain called up a stray memory of Senator Amidala. She had been petite and beautiful with dark brown eyes and hair, so much like Leia.

"You are ... you are certain?"

The princess nodded, "I've actually known that since I was 12. My parents were cagey about my birth family so I eavesdropped one day and found out my birth mother's name. I kept it quiet since my parents were so nervous about it coming out."

"Do you know why?" Carlist asked curiously. He had been close friends with Bail and Breha Organa and they had never breathed a word of any of this.

Leia huffed, "Yes, I know why now. My mother Padme was married, secretly, to a Jedi Knight. I wasn't aware until recently that Jedi weren't allowed to marry."

The general nodded even as he took Leia's hand in her own and patted it gently, "I did know that. They were a celibate order. I think the idea was that they were too busy serving the galaxy to have time for a family."

"Something like that," the girl agreed in what was clearly a bitter tone. "Big mistake in my opinion, but I wasn't around to argue about it. I am just living with the ugly aftermath of the secrecy and the emotional turmoil of it all."

"Do you know your father's name?"

Leia leaned back, tightened her lips, and sighed, "Yes, I do. Now. Anakin Skywalker."

He gasped and felt his eyes bug out of his head, "Anakin Skywalker? The Anakin Skywalker?"

He looked over to where Luke Skywalker had disappeared into the large and utilitarian building, "Anakin Skywalker who was ..."

"Luke's father, yes."

His brain scrambled to catch up. So Skywalker had gone out and procreated with a wife and, what, a mistress? Really? A Jedi Knight had broken the Jedi Code to that degree?

"So you and Commander Skywalker are ... half siblings?"

"Full," Leia replied softly. "We're twins."

"Ocean of Delaya."

She laughed softly now, "Precisely. That was quite a shock when we figured it out."

"How_ did_ you figure it out, Leia?"

She bit her lip, "Here's where things get really crazy, and intense, and incredibly sad, Carlist. I'm afraid to even tell you because I'm afraid it will change your view of me. And Luke, for that matter. It's really really really terrible."

He leaned over to press an avuncular kiss on the crown of her head, "I love you, my dear. Ever since we lost your parents, I have felt like ... well, not a father, but at least a beloved uncle. There is nothing you can tell me that will make me change how I feel about you."

Her eyes were intent now, her gaze fixed on his face, "It's just as well that you're not like a father to me. My real father died on Alderaan, but Anakin Skywalker ... Well, there is no easy way to say this. Anakin Skywalker fell to the Dark Side, pledged his allegiance to Palpatine, and became Darth Vader."

/-

_Mechanical Building_

_Varykino_

"Father, are you going to help me with this tertiary power coupling or not?" Luke Skywalker asked impatiently.

Vader was standing at the one way mirrored window, staring out at his daughter and the Rebel traitor, Carlist Rieekan.

"I do not approve of this," he stated.

"That's the 9th time you've said that, Father," Luke replied in amusement.

Vader turned now to glare at his son, "This is not a humorous matter, son. I cannot fathom why I permitted Rieekan, one of the Rebel leaders who endangered both you and your sister, to come here. It is all too likely that a Rebel task force awaits his signal and they will swoop in and attempt to take you away from me, though they will not succeed."

This was said with such clear menace that Luke looked, and felt, quite disconcerted.

"Father," the youth said softly. "I promise I will stay with you."

Vader turned back toward the window, "And your sister?"

"I don't speak for Leia," Luke pointed out firmly.

Vader nodded wearily, "She has every reason to despise me."

Luke shrugged behind him, "Realistically, yes, she does. But she's a good person, Father. You need to be patient and give her a chance."

The Dark Lord turned back, "I can only hope that she will give _me_ a chance, my son."

/-

Carlist Rieekan of Alderaan leaned forward and wrapped the woman in a warm hug.

"Oh, Leia," he murmured into her hair.

Leia, to her surprise, suddenly gave way to wrenching sobs. She had held it together on Hoth through the horrifying revelations about her biological parentage. She had kept her aristocratic lip stiffly up during the interactions with the Naberries. But now, in the arms of her dear friend, she allowed herself to fall apart hysterically. Dimly, she was aware of Something, or Someone perhaps, gently comforting her spirit in what she thought was probably the Force? Was that what that was?

It couldn't be Vader, could it? He didn't have a comforting bone in his body, what was left of it.

After six minutes of intense wailing, Leia lifted her head and stared at Rieekan. She was vaguely aware that her hair was a mess and her eyes were probably puffy and red with crying. It was to Rieekan's great credit that the princess didn't feel awkward at all.

"Here," the General offered with a gentle smile, passing a hand towel to her.

Leia hiccupped a little even as she managed a watery smile, "Are you always this prepared?"

"Always," Riekkan replied, his gaze shifting toward Varykino. He sat quietly for five minutes as Leia pulled herself together. When he sensed she was calm enough, he spoke again.

"So Vader wants to keep you safe?"

"Yes," the princess scoffed. "He lost his mother and he lost his wife and Luke and I are all he has left, so he's determined to keep us safe even if the galaxy falls apart. Which, as you well know, is not acceptable to me or Luke."

The Alderaanian frowned, "He's literally said he'll keep you prisoner for the rest of his life to keep you from harm? I mean, he's obviously mentally not right, but that seems ... absurd. It is obvious that you and Skywalker would be miserable sitting around doing nothing of import with your lives."

Leia bit her lip and leaned back against the seat. She felt better after crying hard. Good chemicals or something.

"No," she admitted. "He said that he might allow us_, allow us_, to help free the slaves of Tatooine if we had some Force training. He even found his former apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, and pulled her out of an Imperial prison on Tibrin where she's been languishing for the last year. She's still a Light Side Force user and we're going to start training with her when she's recovered from the starvation and abuse she suffered in Imperial custody."

Leia happened to look at her friend's face now, and was startled to see a glow of absolute joy cross his visage.

"Fulcrum is alive?"

Organa gaped in astonishment, "Tano is a Fulcrum agent?"

"The very original Fulcrum agent, Leia! If she's here, that's truly excellent news. I would have trusted her with both my life and my soul, though I'd like to see and talk to her. We thought her long dead, and after a year in Imperial custody, well, I'm a little surprised there is much left of her."

"I trust her," Leia stated solemnly. "So do Luke, Han, and Chewie. She still has a sense of humor."

"And you find that significant?"

The princess smiled, "Yes, I do. It is a sign of a healthy brain to be able to laugh, so long as the gaiety is wholesome."

"Good," Rieekan replied even as he rose to his feet. "Why don't you go introduce me to your psychotic Sith Lord father and then let's meet with your companions and extended family. I have the glimmerings of an idea."

_ Author Note: Thanks to those of you hanging on and reading this fanfic. I appreciate it! And Husband Dear, thank you!_


	12. Chapter 12

_West Sitting Room_

_Varykino_

_Naboo_

_Evening_

_The next day_

Carlist Rieekan took a deep breath and gazed around the room where the Naberrie/Skywalker clan had gathered along with a few close friends. It was a beautiful place decorated in blues and greens and aquas, reminding the old General of the Glarus Lagoons on lost Alderaan.

Darth Vader hovered near the door, looming in his usual menacing way. Leia and Han were standing near a large window, their hands clasped. Luke Skywalker leaned casually against the door that led out onto a simple balcony overlooking a nearby garden. Pooja and Sola Naberrie were seated on another couch looking expectant. Ahsoka Tano, slightly pale today, was curled up on a reclining chair wrapped in a warm blanket.

"So," Carlist Rieekan inquired carefully, "how many of you are familiar with the Corellian Super Beings?"

There was a bewildered pause and then Pooja inquired, "The old Holonet show?"

"Oh right, yes!" Leia chimed in. "I loved that show as a kid!"

She turned to face Han and grinned widely, "Shape of an opee sea killer!"

Han chuckled, "Form of ... a Kowakian monkey-lizard!"

"What?" Luke demanded blankly.

"The show was about a group of noble sentients with special powers who helped people," Leia explained with a fond smile. "Two of them were twins. One could change into a land animal at will, the other could change into an air or water creature."

"Who would ever want to be a Kowakian monkey-lizard?" Luke demanded with a shudder. "They are nasty little things."

"But they are quick and small," Solo explained patiently. "So if they needed to infiltrate through a storm drain or something, Kiwi would turn into a monkey-lizard or a Dagobian mouse to get into the evil gang's headquarters."

"And do you remember that episode where Ziwi changed into a porg and used his cuteness to sneak up on that ugly Trandoshan who was smuggling bootleg liquor into a penal colony and ..."

"Yeah, yeah!" Han interrupted excitedly. "That one was great."

"It sounds completely stupid," Luke stated in an uncompromising tone.

Leia shot her twin an irritable glance and shrugged, "I was 6 when I watched it, Luke. It wasn't brilliant but it was fun."

Luke turned to lift an inquiring eyebrow at Solo, "So what's your excuse, Han? You must have been a teenager?"

The Corellian flushed slightly even as he lifted his chin, "It was filmed in Coronet City and I used to watch it to catch sight of my stomping grounds."

"O-kay."

"And," Solo continued, hesitated, then plowed on, "I was actually an extra in one of the scenes to pick up a few credits."

Leia immediately began bouncing up and down, "Han Solo! You were an extra on _Corellian Superbeings_ and you never told me? How could you?"

"Well ..."

"What is the point of this conversation, Rieekan?" Vader demanded from his own position by the door. The Sith was agitated by the Rebel General's presence; he hardly had time for foolishness.

"The point, Lord Vader," Rieekan replied with a bow, "is that the Super Beings, for all their campy ways, had secret identities. I propose that you and your children adopt secret identities before moving against the slavers and other miscellaneous scum of the Outer Rim."

Vader raised himself another centimeter, "What idiocy is this?!"

"That does seem quite ridiculous, General," Luke added in a disappointed tone.

"Please," Carlist replied, lifting a placating hand, "please, hear me out."

Rieekan frowned and paced back and forth for a few seconds, then swept his gaze over the assembled group.

"I've had the privilege of speaking to all of you in the last 24 hours. Fulcrum, you've told me about your time as a Jedi padawan, and expressed your concerns that the Jedi Order was so busy with endless wars and political machinations that they were unable to step back and analyze the situation sensibly."

"Yes," Ahsoka agreed, leaning her head back against the headrest.

"Leia, I've seen what this war has done to you, my dear. Until Lord Vader captur ... found you, you were completely overworked and exhausted. That's reality."

"So were you," the princess shot back, her brow furrowed.

"Not as much as you were, Leia. I am quite a bit older than you and I've learned that I can't control everything. I can't fix everything. I have withdrawn for my own sanity, for my own peace of mind, even when my workload screamed that I couldn't afford to take the time. You've never learned that."

Leia opened her mouth in protest and stopped as her mentor raised a hand, "I understand why, Leia, perhaps more than I ever did. You are the heir of lost Alderaan. You are also the biological daughter of Padme Amidala, who was one of the foremost politicians and humanitarians of her generation. You are also the daughter of Darth Vader, and he tells me you are a very powerful Force sensitive. The reality is that unless you take firm steps to exert some kind of control, the needs of the galaxy will swallow you, chew you up, and spit you out."

The princess frowned and shook her head, "But don't you think that I should use my gifts to help as much as possible?"

"No."

Leia rolled her eyes in frustration, "How can you say that?"

"Because no one can do everything," her cousin Pooja stated firmly. The woman stepped forward, her eyes fixed on her cousin's face, "Leia, even I got overwhelmed as Naboo's representative to the Imperial Senate, and it was a mostly ineffectual position given that Palpatine had been reducing the power of the Senate for many years. You're an amazing person, Leia, but you aren't all powerful. You have limits like all of us."

"But ... secret identities?" Luke demanded, his mind fixated on the absurdity of that statement.

"The reasons for secret identities is so that the individuals in question can step back and live a semi-normal life part of the time," Sola Naberrie stated slowly. She nodded towards Rieekan. "I can see the value in that."

"Yes, precisely," Carlist continued. "In addition, a secret identity means that friends and relations of the families are protected from retaliation."

"I don't think anyone outside this room knows of our relation to the Naberries," Leia pointed out.

"Not yet. I think eventually it will come out."

"So you propose that we dress up like a Kowakian monkey-lizard and perform ritualistic hoolu dances?" Vader demanded in his most sarcastic tone.

The other man chuckled, "No, not that. I didn't mean that you would mimic the Corellian Superbeings themselves. I was saying that a secret identity might well allow you to go out and free slaves and pursue useful missions, but would also permit you to back off without external pressure if you need to rest, or are, say, getting married ..."

He shot an avuncular glance at Han and Leia, who blushed simultaneously.

"I do think Leia might still feel obliged to rush around saving the galaxy even without external pressure," Sola Naberrie said gravely. "Her mother did."

"Padme did not," Vader interpolated coldly. "She was truly devoted to the needs of the galaxy in general and Naboo in particular, but she was also persuaded by those who sought to use her gifts for their own agenda."

"It was like that in the Jedi Order," Ahsoka chimed in from her chair. "We were often pushed beyond our mental and emotional capability, sometimes beyond our physical, but when someone we admired or venerated or merely obeyed told us we needed to go onto the next mission ..."

She let her voice trail away and Leia nodded thoughtfully, "I see what you're saying, Ahsoka."

"I'm not saying do this," Carlist stated in a soft tone. "I'm saying, think about it. Lord Vader, I understand from your son that the med droid has come up with a host of ways to improve your health."

The Dark Lord glared at Luke, and Luke glared back, "We are going to do this whether you like it or not, Father. There is no reason for you to live in a constant state of agony from infection and ill fitting prosthetics and outdated medicine and half healed burns."

"We can discuss it later," his father replied, his voice dark with possible retribution. Luke lifted his brows and then chuckled.

"You aren't getting out of this, Father," the youth said insouciantly before turning to Rieekan. "General, I'm liking this idea more and more in spite of its oddity. Let me throw this out as another idea; maybe we should take on the personas of these ... these Corellian Super Beings."

"Excuse me. What!? Why?!" his twin asked incredulously.

"First, because deep down, I've always wanted to dress up like a Kowakian monkey-lizard. Secondly – well, the real reason is that it would totally throw people off if we take on the personas of an old Holonet show. It would be harder for our enemies to trace us back to who we really are if we were ..."

"A laughing stock?" Vader interjected snidely.

"I don't think they'll be laughing when we're done with the slavers," Luke replied, his eyes narrowing pensively. "I'm just throwing it out as another idea."

"Well, let's think about it and talk about it, say, tomorrow morning?" Leia suggested.

The door slid open and R-2P3 stepped formally into the room.

"Madame Naberrie, other gentlebeings, dinner is served."

/-

_Slave Holding and Selling Facility_

_Habitable Zone_

_Ryloth_

_Outer Rim_

**_4 months later_**

"And here we have quite a prospect for all of you!" Auctioneer Reblick stated in his usual jolly tone. His eyes glistened slightly with avarice; as part time owner and full time auctioneer of this slave emporium, he received a 23% fee for all sales. He knew from vast experience that this grouping would go for a large amount.

He extended his pudgy hand with a flourish as three chained female Twi'leks were escorted onto the stage by two hulking Gamorrean guards. The females were tall and thin, young, dressed in extremely revealing (and no doubt uncomfortable) metal bikinis except that each outfit sported a different color scheme. Identical triplet Twi'leks dressed in blue, purple, and green. Beautiful. Reblick glanced over the assembled group of slave buyers. The males in the group were Humans, Togrutas, Galderians, Garoos, Barbadelans, Rodians, and many other alien species. Their skin colors ranged from tan to white to green to blue. Their eyes were full of greed and enthusiasm and lust at the sight before them.

Yes, these three would earn top credits.

"We have here three Twi'lek triplets, age 22. They have been trained in dancing, meal serving ..."

The Auctioneer broke off as the door in the back of the large, rather stuffy room broke free and smashed into the audience. There were yelps of surprise and terror, which grew into genuine screams as a large figure appeared in the doorway and leaped gracefully into the center of the room.

Reblick's eyes were so wide that they nearly popped out. The creature was a tall biped, encased on tan armor, with a helmet in the shape of a ... a cat?

The Being hissed, "The Sand Panther speaks now. This slave market is closed. You all have sixty seconds to depart before I attack."

The Auctioneer scowled fearsomely. Who was this idiot who dared to come in here and threaten them and disrupt his auction? Reblick gestured to the guards who were moving toward the intruder.

"Kill him!" he ordered carelessly, even as he turned back toward the three Twi'lek slaves. The females were staring wide eyed at the Sand Panther (?) and he scowled at them. The most valuable lot of the night and his usual spiel was disrupted. He'd have to work extra hard to get the crowd in the right mood again ...

Suddenly, before his unbelieving eyes, one of the guards flew through the air and smashed into one of the minions overseeing the triplet slaves. The Auctioneer spun around just in time to see two other defenders bouncing into random walls. There were additional screams and yells in the audience and not a little blaster fire, which the bizarre interloper evaded with ease. A moment later, Reblick found himself knocked to the floor of the stage with the gigantic armored sentient crouched over him, one heavy knee holding down the portly human's body with ease.

"What ... what do you want?" Reblick managed to stutter. "I can pay you anything."

"I want you dead," the creature snarled, lifting one hand. Reblick shrank in terror as he observed sheathed nails pop into an open position, their razor sharp edges reflecting the baleful overhead lights. A moment later, the clawed hand swung down and the last thing the Auctioneer felt was a crash of pain.

The Sand Panther rose casually to his feet, avoiding the spurting jugular vein with ease, and leaped toward the remaining Gamorrean hovering nervously near the triplet slaves. Not surprisingly, the alien decided that discretion was the better part of valor and fled for the back exit, which was now choked with a passel of horrified slave buyers.

The Panther glanced around even as he lit his purple lightsaber and deflected a few bolts from random passer-bys. He lifted his left hand and threw a heavy table against the rear exit, taking out the Gamorrean and blocking the entrance in the process. The pig like guard squealed in shock and went down even as the Panther approached the triplets, who were shaking in terror.

"Do not be afraid," the armored cyborg murmured in what he hoped was a reassuring tone, "I am the Sand Panther, and I'm here to rescue you."

He reached forward through the Force and removed the chains from the females' wrists, even as he checked on his twins.

"_Are you well, Luke and Leia?"_

"_Yes, we're fine,_" Luke replied, then added in a tone which was amused even through the Force, "_and that's Kiwi and Ziwi, Father_."

"_As you wish_," Darth Vader returned with equal levity.

"_Is everything all right up there?_" Leia demanded.

Darth Vader, the Sand Panther, gazed around at the room filled with screaming, horrified, terrified slave buyers who were struggling towards the back exit, trampling one another in their panic to escape him.

"_Yes, indeed, my children. All is as it should be."_

/

_Author Note: Like I said at the beginning of the last chapter, I got a wild idea and this is it! _


	13. Chapter 13

_Slave Holding and Selling Facility_

_Habitable Zone_

_Ryloth_

_Outer Rim_

15 minutes later

"Hey Skyguy. The Alliance ship has just come out of hyperspace. The slaves have been freed and we're set to get them off planet and to safety with the Rebellion."

"Excellent," Vader/Anakin/Sand Panther replied. "I presume you and the children are well?"

"I wouldn't let anything happen to your kids," Tano stated firmly.

"Thank you, Snips."

Ahsoka Tano smiled slightly. Even after four months, she wasn't used to Vader's paternal obsession about the safety of his children. It was rather adorable. She took a few steps closer to Vader.

"So I assume you are almost ready to go_," _she began, then stopped with a gasp. "Dear Moons of Iago, Skyguy, that's _nasty._"

Vader glanced at her absently before turning his attention to the pyramid he was creating with the Force in the middle of the room.

"It is a message," he hissed. "The Sand Panther will take no prisoners in his fight against the slavers of the galaxy."

Ahsoka stared wide eyed at the growing structure of decapitated heads.

"You're really getting into this Sand Panther thing, aren't you?"

Vader shrugged self consciously.

"Perhaps," he admitted.

/

_Main Internment Camp _

_Kashyyyk_

_1 week later_

"ROWRRGHHH!" Chewbacca roared above the noise of blaster fire and lightsabers buzzing. There was a corresponding roar from dozens of Wookiees, who snarled in anticipation.

The main gate of the slave pen was wrenched off its hinges by the Force, and a moment later the Sand Panther leaped through the door, sliced off the heads of a couple of hapless guards, and gestured to Chewbacca, whose hair had been bleached white.

"Wroughh ooruh!" Chewbacca continued, gesturing to his fellow Wookiees. A dozen of the strongest males rushed out of the gate and began tackling the guards who were hurrying to the sight of the disturbance. Amid the arms and legs which were promptly torn off the Imperial troops, Leia (Ziwi) darted around a corner, leaped onto a tower, and sliced in half the two troopers who had been firing on the Wookiees a moment before.

"_This guard tower is under control,"_ she told her brother even as she destroyed the heavy guns installed in the lookout.

"_I'm blowing up this other guard tower in about ten seconds," _Luke (Kiwi) responded through the Force.

The Sand Panther did a quick Force sweep and smiled grimly behind his mask. All was proceeding as planned.

"Solo?" he inquired aloud through his com.

"Yeah?"

Vader flinched slightly at Solo's casual response but remained calm. There was absolutely no point in getting frustrated with the man, especially since his daughter was extremely protective of the Corellian.

How had it happened that his daughter had fallen in love with a grungy smuggler?

"We are nearly finished here. Please prepare for our departure to the next Slave Facility."

"As you wish, your lordship," Solo replied cheerfully.

Grungy and snarky. Wonderful.

/-

_Meeting Room_

_Adjacent to Imperial Throne Room_

_Imperial Palace_

_Imperial City_

_Imperial Center_

_2 days later_

"Dozens of troops killed, hundreds of slaves taken, entire slave facilities destroyed" Ysanne Isard snarled angrily. "This is inexcusable!"

"Get off that throne," Ars Dangor ordered, sweeping into the room with four guards at his back.

Isard lifted her chin and glared at her rival, "It is not a throne; it is a chair, nothing more."

"You know it is not merely a chair," Dangor replied furiously. "Our master, and _only _our master, sat on that chair. Even Lord Vader was not permitted to sit there. Certainly you, a mere Imperial Intelligence Chief ..."

Ysanne rose to her feet, her disparate colored eyes blazing in fury, "How dare you? I served his Majesty as devotedly as you did. It is a great tragedy that he died of pneumonia but I have worked as hard as you have to keep the Empire together after our Master's death ..."

"You work only because you seek the supreme position of Empress, Isard," Dangor hissed back. "I know you and your ambition but you lack the ability to rule. Furthermore, it has not even been a year since our great leader died, and you show by your actions that you have nearly forgotten ..."

"I most certainly have not forgotten him! He was the greatest man who ever lived, but we must live with reality. He is gone. All that we can do is strive to uphold the great Empire that he created ..."

"If I may," Sate Pestage interrupted firmly but calmly. Really, his fellow leaders of the Empire acted like_ children _at times.

"If I may," he repeated after he was sure that Isard and Dangor were paying attention to him, "I believe we should focus on the situation on Kashyyyk. The loss of Kashyyyk and the Wookiee slave force is a serious one, and we must determine who is behind it. Can we do that?"

"Only if Isard move off the Emperor's chair," Dangor replied petulantly.

Ysanne Isard rolled her eyes and huffed, "Fine. I'm moving already."

After she had reluctantly shifted over one chair, Dangor turned to Sate Pestage.

"Surely it is the Rebellion?" he queried, disgust dripping from his tone at the mention of that scurrilous organization.

"It is at least partially the Rebellion," Pestage replied quietly, "but I fear there is another factor at work. Initial reports suggest that several Force users were involved ..."

There was a high pitched beep and the former Imperial advisor glanced at a nearby holoscreen and nodded, "Excellent. We have holofeed from the attack on the primary internment camp on Kashyyyk."

The triumvirate at the head of the Empire turned to face a large screen which lowered gracefully from the ceiling and flickered to life. They watched with a mixture of disgust and interest as a bizarre figure dressed in tan armor leaped into view, cut many troopers down with a purple lightsaber, and opened a blast door. Several more figures rushed in, one a huge Wookiee with white fur, the others an oddly dressed pair of armor clad figures, one short and the other ones shorter.

"Who are these people?" Ysanne demanded.

There was a sudden crash behind the three sentients and Pestage and Isard spun in dismay. A young Twi'lek female stood with her hands clutching a gold plated tray, her eyes wide with shock. At her feet was a scattered blast of ceramic chunks from broken cups surrounded by a growing pool of dark liquid.

"Crista, you clumsy fool!" Isard hissed with rage, taking an angry step toward her personal slave.

"The Corellian Super Beings," the young female gasped out, her eyes focused on the screen.

Pestage took a step forward, pushing down Isard's arm to prevent her from striking the young sentient.

"The what?" he inquired in a soothing tone.

"The Corellian Super Beings," Crista explained with adoration on her face. "It was my favorite show when I was a child on Ryloth! See, the tall one is the Sand Panther, and look, the white one is The Wampa. The one with a monkey lizard helmet is Kiwi and the one with the starbird helmet is Ziwi. It's ... it's the Corellian Super Beings come to life!"

Isard's face had shifted from angry to puzzled to slack with disbelief, "What?!"

/-

_Meeting Room #3_

_Rebel Ship Liberty_

_In Orbit Around Sullust_

_Three Weeks Later_

"This is not acceptable, General Rieekan," General Davits Draven stated. "These Corellian Super Beings are wreaking havoc across the galaxy and you are doing nothing to stop them!"

Rieekan took a deep breath and forced himself to speak steadily. Draven was a good man, a clever man, but he was also a paranoid man. As one of the leading intelligence operatives of the Alliance, paranoia had its place, but in this case it was annoying.

"I have absolutely no intention of stopping them, General Draven," Carlist replied patiently. "The Super Beings are on our side."

"They are loose particle cannons!"

"Not to mention ridiculous," the Mon Calamari Admiral Akbar pointed out.

"They are hardly laughing stock to the Empire," Mon Mothma stated gravely. "They have destroyed slave installations on Ryloth, Alsakan, and Kashyyyk in the last months. Numerous former slaves have joined the ranks of the Alliance. For this, we must be thankful. General Rieekan assures me that this group has the Alliance's best interests at heart even if the Super Beings are not under our direct jurisdiction."

"I think it is obvious that Rieekan is very much involved in this bizarre team. I insist that you provide their names and other identifying information about them, General. It is ludicrous that Alliance resources are being used for an unknown band of terrorists."

"Absolutely not, Draven," Carlist snapped back with determination. "The identities of the Corellian Super Beings will remain a closely guarded secret to protect them from retaliation."

The two men glared at each other for a long moment until Mon Mothma broke in diplomatically, "General Rieekan, are you at least willing to provide a rough idea of their next target?"

Carlist chuckled, "I have no idea. I'm always as surprised as anyone else."

/-

_1 week later_

"That's it, huh?" Leia muttered.

"Yep," Han murmured back.

"I had forgotten how much I hate this place," Luke whined, brushing sand off his boots.

"Tatooine is indeed a vile place, full of sand that is rough, coarse, and irritating," his sire stated coldly, his tan cloak ruffling in the wind. "Nevertheless, it will slightly less loathsome when Jabba is dead."

Ahsoka Tano, dressed in her arachnoid Dalyrake costume, smiled fiercely, her canines glistening in the double suns of Tatooine, "Jabba won't know what hit him."

/

_Author Note: Thank you to my loyal husband who once again is juggling editing duties on two fanfics. Also, many many thanks to those of you who continue to read and comment on this fic. I know I haven't been updating all that quickly so I'm especially grateful for your patience._


	14. Chapter 14

_Jabba's Throne Room_

_Jabba's Palace_

_Tatooine_

_2 hours later_

"But the Sand Panther didn't make piles of decapitated heads on the Holonet show," Leia pointed out patiently.

"I am putting my own stamp on the character," her father replied grandly, gesturing with the Force. Jabba's fleshy head sat on the floor next to his now vacant throne. On top of Jabba's head was the disembodied noggin of the Twi'lek Bib Fortuna and on top of that he gently placed the tiny cranium of Salacious B. Crumb, former favorite pet of the now dead Hutt.

"As a part time Kowakian monkey-lizard, I find that offensive," Luke stated with a smirk, stepping into the room with his blue lightsaber lit. In his left hand, he carried one of his Kiwi masks, this one in the shape of a carnivorous vorantikus.

"I think it's disgusting," Leia said coldly.

"Naw, it's cool," her twin averred. "Look, Leia, we want to instill terror, right? I mean, to the slavers. Having piles of decapitated heads is quite unnerving, but not Darth Vader unnerving. We don't want anyone guessing that Darth Vader is out destroying slavers so a different kind of horrible is brilliant."

Leia rolled her eyes, "Whatever. How is it going out there?"

Luke grew serious now, "It's going well. Ahsoka and Han and Chewie have freed the prisoners and slaves. Jabba actually has quite a number of spaceworthy vessels so we may just turn some individuals loose, the ones who are healthy anyway."

"Excellent," the Sand Panther hissed. "We should depart quickly before the local Imperials come calling."

"You know, from an artistic sense I think shifting the monkey-lizard's head slightly would look better," Leia murmured aloud.

"This is symmetrical," her father pointed out patiently.

"Not everything needs to be symmetrical," his daughter argued. "I think slightly to the left ..."

She gestured, and the tiny head, its beady eyes wide with surprise, moved a couple of centimeters over.

"That's better."

"No, it is not."

Luke groaned aloud.

/-

_Corellian Holonet Studio #2_

_Coronet City_

_Corellia _

_6 days later_

"Ladies and Gentlebeings," Corilla Spetzv said with an enthusiastic smile, "today we have a special treat for you. Some of you have no doubt heard of the mysterious band of terrorists who have attacked numerous installations across the galaxy in recent weeks. There are, sadly, many nefarious groups of evildoers in our fair Empire, but the bizarre aspect of this specific gang is that they are taking on the name and physical appearance of the Corellian Super Beings, a beloved superhero show from more than 15 years ago. Today, we have two of the former Super Beings in our studio. Please welcome Quianna Jane, the former sea and air twin Ziwi, and Ransome Quiltratz, formerly Kiwi, the land animal twin, and now one of the premier fashion designers in the galaxy. Quianna, Ransome, welcome to the show!"

"Thank you," Quianna replied with a practiced fling of her auburn locks. "I loved my years as Ziwi!"

"It is indeed a pleasure to be here, Corilla," Ransome added with a toothy smile. "Those years as Kiwi were a formative time in my life, and provided the springboard for my current designer career."

"Well, given that you both have fond memories, what do you think about this band of assassins who are using the Super Being motif for their cover?"

"I think they are great," Quianna Jane replied immediately with a wide smile of her brilliant teeth. "My career hasn't been the best the last few years, but I've already been approached for two Holonet commercials and there are even murmurings about a new Super Beings show!"

"So you think they are great even though they are a group of mass murderers?" Spetzv inquired with a lift of one carefully dyed eyebrow.

Quianna's vacuous but lovely face grew dark with fear.

"Do you think they might murder me?" she squeaked.

"Thus far, they have targeted business sentients and Imperial Forces," Corilla explained soothingly, "no actresses or anyone in the entertainment industry."

"Well, that's fine then," Quianna replied sunnily. "As long as I'm safe, I don't care."

"Well, um, Ransome, what is your thinking?"

"I would have to withhold judgement until I've seen a holo of them," the designer stated, stroking his crimson dyed beard. "The outfits on the original Super Beings show were ahead of their time thanks to my input. I was but a teenager at the time, but my brilliance was already displaying itself in the design arena."

"Well, I actually do have a few holopics of some members of this band of terrorists, though not entire clips due to security reasons," Corilla Spetzv said with a practiced smile. "The Imperial Security Bureau provided them. Let me show you."

"Here is Ziwi, wearing a ..."

"Starbird mask," Quianna Jane trilled. "I wore something similar in Episode 84!"

"It is quite well done," Ransome stated with an approving nod.

"And here is Kiwi is wearing a ..."

"Kowakian Monkey-Lizard helmet!" Quianna shrieked in delight. "Episode 32!"

"And here is the Sand Panther ..."

This time the shriek came from Ransome Quiltratz, who leaped to his feet in a frenzy of enthusiasm, "This is incredible! He's so tall! The cloak, that form, it just cascades off his broad shoulders. Are those genuine claws!? I just ... I'm inspired! Where is my assistant? I need to start a new fashion line, right now ..."

"Can I be a model in your fashion show, Ransome? My career hasn't been the best."

"Maybe, maybe," Ransome muttered, his eyes narrowed in an ecstasy of artistic delight.

"And this is a pile of decapitated heads left by the Super Beings after one of their recent heists," Corilla stated with relish.

There was another shriek from Ransome Quiltrazm, this one a cry of horror. A moment later, he fell over in a dead faint.

"Cool!" Quianna Jane said eagerly.

/

_Bowels of Coronet City_

_Corellia_

_1 month later_

_Evening_

"Solo," Lady Proxima hissed with her wide mouth full of spiky, vicious teeth. "I have waited long for this moment. You left in quite a hurry the last time we met, and you left me with a burned face which still pains me when the weather changes. I will enjoy your death, which I assure you will be long and exquisitely painful."

"I've been waiting a long time too," Solo replied. A moment later, the four guards surrounding him grabbed their own throats even as their blasters were whisked away by an unseen Force.

"Get down, Han!" Leia shouted, leaping across the pool of water and slicing toward Lady Proxima's throat. The giant Grindalid shrieked and jerked back just as Luke leaped across the basin from the other direction, avoiding Proxima's neck chains and cutting her neck in half from the back.

There was a bellow of anguish and the gigantic clawed, wormie beast slipped to one side and into the water, causing a geyser which caught Luke. The youth fell into the water and swam quickly to one side. Leia reached down an arm and pulled her twin out. Luke fell onto the ground and groaned.

"Are you all right, Kid?" Han asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," his young friend replied with a shudder, "except that I'm covered in scummy water and I was really nervous that something was going to bite me while I was thrashing around in there."

"That's pretty paranoid, Luke."

"You're not the one who got pulled under by a dianoga in a Death Star trash compactor, Han."

"Good point."

"Hey, the Sand Panther wants us to take the east tunnel which will end up on ...," Leia murmured, her eyes faraway.

"Kilta Street," Luke finished.

"Ok, I know the way," Han said confidently. "I know these tunnels like the back of my hand."

"It's a good thing, Han," Leia said with a smile even as she placed her hand in his. "These tunnels are a maze."

"I assume the Sand Panther and the Dalyrake are taking care of the slaves?" Solo inquired softly. It was odd being here after so many years. The last time he had confronted Lady Proxima, Qi'ra had been his best friend. More than his best friend ...

"Yes," Luke stated with a thoughtful look at the Corellian smuggler. "They're getting them out another way."

"Ok."

"Is your eye all right?" Leia asked suddenly, peering at her love in the dim light of the tunnel.

"Fine. I just took a hard hit by one of the minions when I was 'captured', but it's nothing."

Leia sighed and picked up her speed, "I'm just thankful that Proxima didn't order you shot on the spot. If she hadn't wanted you brought to her, you'd be dead or imprisoned and we'd be no closer to taking her down."

"Listen, Leia, Proxima was totally like Jabba in her treatment of people who angered her. Of course she had me brought to her, just like Jabba did when we took him down on Tatooine. They both loved a big spectacle when putting someone to death."

"That makes sense," Luke commented from behind the couple. "Though I must say its unnerving how many galactic gangsters were upset with you. Are there any more we should know about?"

Solo opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it thankfully to report, "Look, here's the grate to Kilta Street. How about you Force Sensitives get this open and we'll blow this slimy place?"

Leia gave him a look which indicated their conversation was not over, but she quickly donned her Ziwi helmet in the shape of a Naboo whale and then leaped up to grab the grate. A moment later, her lightsaber cut through the barrier, which dropped to the floor of the tunnel with a clang.

"I'll go up first," Luke offered, his head now concealed by a shaak mask. He leaped through the grate and looked around carefully both with his eyes and with the Force. The street was a quiet one though it dead ended into a larger traffic lane filled with speeders and sentients. Luke turned to give Han a hand up, and a moment later Leia joined them.

"This way to the spaceport," Han began, only to be interrupted by a shriek from a nearby alley.

Ziwi and Kiwi lit their blades as a threesome of Twi'lek females suddenly ran out from behind a garbage bin.

"We don't want any trouble," Ziwi said in a serious tone.

"Oh, we don't either!" the tallest Twi'lek yelped as she hopped up and down. "We just want your holograph. Please?"

"What?" Kiwi asked in a bewildered tone.

"You're the Corellian Super Beings!" another female gushed even as she held up a personal holocam and began recording. "This is amazing! Can you please pose with me. Please? And can you sign my arm? I have a writing utensil! This is the best day of my life!"

Leia shot a horrified look at Han. Even under his generic Super Being sidekick mask, she could tell he was convulsed with laughter.

_Author Note: Thank you, dear husband, for editing! We are closing in on the end of this fic. I think?_


	15. Chapter 15

_Random Apartment_

_Imperial City_

_Imperial Center_

_Two days later_

Brilana Silk stepped into the dreary main room of the apartment and collapsed onto the ancient couch. The Krayt leather had split apart in several spots and the grungy shaak wool stuffing poked out. It had been a very high end sofa in its day, but that day was long past.

"Hard day?" her twin sister Aralina asked, stepping out of the small kitchen with a glass of blue milk in her hand.

"Very," Brilana replied with a groan, taking the cup and sucking down a deep draught of the tasty liquid. "Prince Xizor showed up today unexpectedly and wanted moonglow. The kitchen was a frantic mess and the wait staff fell behind, which made the normal clientele angry, which meant tips were down. So it was a rotten day and I didn't make as much as usual."

"I'm sorry," Aralina replied, dropping onto the couch and sending a soft Force hug into the mind of her other half.

Bri sighed and lolled back against the cushions with her eyes closed, "It's Ok. Xizor never comes two days in a row to the _Manarai_ and tomorrow will be better. And I have the next day off. But as soon as I eat a little something, I'm going to pour myself into bed and get some sleep."

"Actually, Jade is coming over in the next few minutes so you'd better have some caf after you finish your blue milk. She says she has an idea."

"Oh no."

"Hey, she has great ideas sometimes."

"But I'm tired!"

"Don't whine."

There was a soft tap in the Force and Brilani opened one eye, "And here she is."

Aralina rolled to her feet and strode over to the door, which opened to reveal a red maned woman dressed in a practical tan outfit. Mara Jade walked in and glanced around warily before nodding at the woman on the couch.

"Brilani."

"Jade."

"You don't look glad to see me."

"I'm not. I've had a rotten day and I am incredibly tired and your ideas are always exhausting."

"She's pretty whiny today," Aralina commented with a grin, walking over to drop down on a chair near her sister.

"Not whiny," Brilani insisted, waving her now empty glass around deliberately. "Tired."

"I have an idea."

"I hate your ideas," Bri snapped sullenly.

"Bri, shut up. Mara, go ahead."

Mara gazed wide eyed at the identical blond haired twins for a long moment, then shook her head. She'd been a loner all her life and this whole twin 'thing' was weird to her.

"I have an idea to take down the triumvirate at the head of the Empire," she clarified.

"And why would we do that?" Aralina demanded with lifted brows.

Mara looked at her incredulously, "Why? Because the Empire is evil? Because Palpatine stole us and murdered our ... our families, and then used us and twisted us? Because he lied to both of you and told each of you that your twin had died long ago. Because you were separated for more than 15 years? Because there are slaves dying and suffering and ..."

"I know," Brilani interrupted her tone gentle now. "Ara just wonders why _we _should do this? I mean, it's a big galaxy and we're just three former Emperor's Hands with specialized training but relatively few resources. Why not someone else? Why shouldn't we keep our heads down?

Mara stared at first one twin, then the other, "Because we're trained assassins? Because we do have specialized training? Because we are right here on Imperial Center, and we know secret passages into the Imperial Palace, and we can take down those vile sleemos more easily than anyone else in this galaxy?"

The blond twins exchanged thoughtful looks and then Brilani sat up carefully, "All right, Jade. It sounds both fatiguing and dangerous but we'll at least listen to the plan."

Mara straightened and nodded briskly, "Ok. So have you heard about this whole Corellian Super Being group that's been tackling slavers all over the galaxy?"

"Slavers," Bri agreed, "and Imperials, Hutts, Corellian bosses, and other miscellaneous scum. Of course we have. During my break at work today, most of the other wait staff was gushing over Ransome Quiltratz's new fashion collection that debuted yesterday. Apparently the Sand Panther cloak is going to be the fashion hit of the year."

"People are idiots," Mara snapped irritably even as she gazed out the window into the bright lights of Imperial Center at night, "but I'm thankful. It will make it easier for us."

"Easier to do what?" Bri asked nervously.

"Oh, kill Isard, Pestage, and Dangor while dressed up as the Corellian Super Beings."

The twins blinked at Mara, then looked at one another, then looked back at their fellow former Emperor's Hand.

"Um, what?"

/-

_Holonet Call between Relinka Spetzv (on Imperial Center and her sister Corilla Spetzv (on Corellia)_

_2 days later_

"I got the promotion!" Corilla squealed at her sister across the many lightyears separating them. "I will start the evening slot in three days!"

"Corilla, that's wonderful!" Relinka gushed back, her aquamarine hair bouncing with excitement. "It was that Corellian Super Beings story, wasn't it?"

"Absolutely!" Corilla chortled, taking a sip of Corellian whiskey and then choking slightly as the harsh liquor burned her throat. She wasn't much of a drinker.

"Yes," she continued when she could breathe again. "Yes. My boss loved the segment, especially with Ransome Quiltratz fainting when I showed the holo of the decapitated heads."

Relinka bit her lip in barely concealed envy, "I would have died for that holo, Corilla. Died."

"Yeah, I got it from an old friend in the Imperial Security Bureau who swore me to secrecy so I can't tell you the name, but that holo was worth every credit I paid."

"Oh definitely," her older sister crowed. "Definitely. So did you hear more about that sighting of Corellian Super Being wannabe's a few days ago in Coronet City? Any idea who they were?"

Corilla leaned a little closer to the Holonet screen and lowered her voice as if that would make a difference, "We think they were the real gang, Relinka."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"But they signed holographs! On arms of random Twi'leks! There was a block party and one of the minions led the crowd in a rousing rendition of "Scum Rats Forever"! It's all over the Holonet! No way were they the real deal, Corilla!"

"They killed Lady Proxima, Relinka, and freed a bunch of slaves. The whole block party and dancing and cavorting was just great cover, we think. The Imperials showed up and thought it was harmless idiocy, and the whole group snuck off once everyone was too drunk to follow them. No one has seen them since the middle of that night. They are crazy people because the Imperial and Hutt bounties on their heads are in the millions now, but they managed to pull it off somehow."

Relinka shook her head in amazement, "You have all the luck, little sister."

"Says the woman who is the face of the Imperial Holonet network on Imperial Center."

"I'm happy for you, Corilla," her sister said sincerely. "Really happy."

/

_Mon Mothma's Office_

_Rebel Ship Liberty_

_In orbit around Sullust_

_Three days later_

_Middle of the Night Cycle_

"Mon."

Mon Mothma looked up with a weary smile at her old friend and colleague, "Carlist, do come in."

"I apologize for the delay," General Rieekan stated apologetically. "You must be exhausted."

"I'm full of caf, so I'm doing all right," she replied with a wave of her hand at a nearby cup. "And I've gotten a ton of work done."

"Good, good," Rieekan replied uneasily, then braced himself. "Well, there is no point in delaying the point of this surreptitious meeting."

"No," Mothma agreed politely. "Have a seat."

"Actually," the General began, gesturing at the door, "let me bring in some surprise visitors."

Mon Mothma rose to her feet in confusion, which shifted into baffled disbelief as six individuals filed into the office, filling it quite thoroughly. Five of the six were humanoids with masks on their faces, and the sixth was a giant Wookiee with white hair. The door slid behind them all as Mon took a shaky step forward.

"The Corellian Super Beings," she murmured in awe, then chuckled softly. "I sound like a giddy fan, don't I? This is delightful, Carlist! I am so honored to meet you all. But why are you here? And why so secretly? The Alliance leadership recognizes your amazing accomplishments and few have concerns about your purpose at this point."

"Because the situation is complicated," Ziwi stated, pulling her convor mask from her head.

Mothma was a stately woman and she rarely lost her cool, but ...

"Leia!" she cried out, tears filling her eyes. "Leia, Leia, Leia. Oh Leia, we thought you were lost ..."

"On the Hoth mission," Luke commented, removing his Kaadu mask.

"Commander Skywalker!" Mothma murmured, her hand over her mouth. "And ... that is Chewbacca, is it not, and Captain Solo. You ... you are the Corellian Super Beings?"

"We are," Ahsoka explained, pulling off her dalyrake helmet. "We've only met once, Mon Mothma. Fulcrum."

"Fulcrum," she murmured back, her eyes wide with amazement. Her eyes flitted over the group in amazement, then came to rest on the only sentient still wearing a mask.

"And who is the Sand Panther?" she asked courteously. "Another old friend?"

"No," the Panther hissed.

"He can't safely take off his mask here," Leia explained gravely. "But he is the reason this situation is fraught with complexity."

She hesitated, glanced at Luke, then at the Sand Panther, then back at Mon Mothma.

"Do I have to explain this?" she asked plaintively of the galaxy at large.

Chewbacca chuckled and Han drew her onto a nearby chair, "Sure. Because you're the diplomat, Leia."

"Please, sit down," Mothma said hurriedly, lowering herself into her seat. She frequently had meetings in her office, so there were enough chairs.

"I will stand and guard the door," the Sand Panther stated coldly.

"As you wish," she replied politely, before turning her gaze to Leia.

Leia hesitated, then lifted her brown eyes to meet her older friend's, "Mon, did you know I was adopted?"

The former Senator from Chandrila frowned in bewilderment, "Yes, I knew that. Not that I thought about it in many years, my dear. Bail and Breha always loved you as their own. But yes, I know."

She noted, because she was adept at body language, that the mysterious Sand Panther stiffened at these words.

Leia turned her head to glare at the tall figure, and then looked back, "Ok, so the reason we all disappeared on the Hoth mission is that we, uh, ran into my biological father."

Mon Mothma heard a sharp intake of breath and realized it was her own, "What?!"

"My father was on Hoth, hiding out. He found us."

"That seems quite an unlikely coincidence."

"No coincidence," Luke murmured softly, "it was the will of the Force."

"All right," the Alliance leader replied agreeably, though her brow was furrowed. "So why not bring him here? We would certainly welcome your father."

"You would not," the Sand Panther stated bleakly, his voice cold through the mask. "Furthermore, I had no intention of allowing my daughter to return to a ramshackle organization which put her into exceedingly dangerous situations all too often."

"Father, if you keep interrupting and snapping at her, this will take all night," Luke stated equably. "You're the one that wants out of here in a few hours."

Mon Mothma's mouth dropped open at this bewildering speech, and Leia hurried to speak, "So that's part of the craziness, Mon. It turns out, unbelievably, that Luke and I are twins."

The auburn haired woman stared at Leia, then Luke, then the Sand Panther, then made the leap, "So you are saying that the Sand Panther is ... is ... Anakin Skywalker!?"

"That name no longer has any meaning for me," the Sand Panther growled.

"More or less, but mostly less," Leia chimed in quickly.

"Like Leia said, it is very complicated," Luke finished.

Mon's eyes were fixed on the Sand Panther's tan mask, even as she shook her head slightly in wonder, "Anakin Skywalker reportedly died during the Jedi Purges more than two decades ago. Where have you _been_ all these years?!"

"Breaking the galaxy," Leia stated matter-of-factly.

"Sort of," Luke added nervously. "It was really more Palpatine."

"Right hand man," Leia pointed out.

"He is Darth Vader, Mon," Rieekan explained softly, then glanced at Leia. "You couldn't quite spit it out, could you? You're welcome."

Ten seconds ground by and then Mothma sputtered out, "What?!"

Surprisingly it was Han Solo who answered this bewildered query, and his tone held its usual insouciance, "Anakin Skywalker switched sides and became Darth Vader, who eventually found out he had a kid, so he killed Palpatine, and then he found his son and a surprise daughter on Hoth. So he broke Fulcrum out of prison to teach them the ways of the Force, and escorted them and their motley friends to Naboo, their mother's homeworld. Finally his bored twins convinced him to take on the slavers of the galaxy as the Corellian Super Beings. It's not that complicated."

Mothma had been glaring at the Sand Panther, but now she turned her irritable gaze on Han Solo, "Thank you, Captain Solo. That was very helpful indeed."

She shook her head now, "Wait, you killed Palpatine? I thought he died of pneumonia."

"He died of nitrogen bubbles in the blood after I sabotaged his hyperbaric chamber," the Panther stated matter of factly.

"Why did you kill him?"

"He was a threat to the son I knew of and the daughter I was unaware of. He would have taken my child and twisted him or her to his will, made my offspring a slave ..."

Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker/the Sand Panther turned to look at a random potted plant in the corner.

"I would not wish such slavery on my worst enemy," he continued softly, "much less my own child."

The middle aged woman's face, tight with anger, softened to something like compassion.

"I see."

"The threesome currently at the top of the Empire has placed high bounties on all of us," the Panther continued, determined to leave behind the memory of his years of slavery. "I can protect myself, but I am concerned about my ability to protect the twins. We need to take down Isard, Pestage, and Dangor. It will be challenging for us to infiltrate Imperial Center, however. We ..."

He trailed off, and Luke finished for him, "We need the help of the Alliance to get there unseen, Madame Mothma. And then the Empire will fall."

_Author Note: Getting very near the end, very very near. Thank you dear husband for editing for me!_


	16. Chapter 16

_Meeting Room #1_

_Imperial Palace_

_Imperial City_

_Imperial Center_

_3 weeks later_

Sate Pestage bit his lip hard. The jolt of pain surged through his lip and into his brain, waking him up for about 5.8 seconds.

Captain Ispa of the Imperial Security Bureau glanced at the large overhead screen, then looked back up at the men sitting around the table to continue in a near monotone, "The NPA therefore porgtails automatically into the ISB, causing the second tier of the Judicial Armory Division, known as JAD, to deal with the ..."

Pestage would have to stick his finger down his throat soon if he was to stay awake for this horror of a meeting. Ars Dangor had openly nodded off at this point, but he had grown fat under Palpatine – literally and figuratively. He didn't have the stamina to stay alert through day long security meetings like this one.

As for Ysanne Isard, the lazy shaak, well, she had sat in for 10 minutes and then slipped away with a quick holotext that "an emergency had come up."

As if she had fooled anyone with that.

Isard just didn't have staying power. But that was fine with Pestage. He would nod and grimace at the appropriate moments of this briefing, and he would collect information, and in the end he would kill Ysanne Isard and do something to Ars Dangor – maybe get him hooked on spice? Something. And then he, Sate Pestage, would ascend the throne.

Emperor Pestage. It had a nice ring.

"The ARDS will require a BRINA transmission which will ARC the WINT CRAT," Ispa continued.

So many acronyms. So. Many. Blasted. Acronyms.

The door abruptly blew open and Sate Pestage turned in stunned disbelief as smoke bombs went off and the dim forms of armored figures charged toward him. He reacted slowly, dulled by the agonizing boredom of the meeting and this morning's large breakfast of Bantha-butter pancakes. By the time he had risen to his feet, four guards were downed by blaster fire. By the time he had dropped to the floor and begun to crawl under the table for protection, the room was filled with minor explosions and the bizarre sound of ... was that a lightsaber?

By the time he had crept to the head of the table, near the emergency exit to the room, large feet had installed themselves directly in front of his escape route. Pestage let out a squeak of dismay as a bizarre armored head poked under the table and a strong arm yanked him out and he found himself being shoved into a nearby wall with a blaster in his face.

The room was full of corpses, including Dangor, who had died as he lived – corpulent and barely awake. Pestage found himself gazing like a frightened ash rabbit at a helmeted face in the form of a ...

"The Sand Panther!" he choked out, terror filling every corpuscle of his body. He knew, of course, of the Corellian Super Beings. He had, indeed, recently bought a Ransome Quiltratz Sand Panther cloak (truly one of Quiltratz's best fashion efforts.) But Pestage had never imagined in a thousand years that this gang would dare to infiltrate the Imperial Palace. This was ... this was ...

"We should kill him," the Dalyrake stated coldly.

"Indeed," murmured a slight form whose helmet was in the shape of an opee sea killer.

"Ziwi," Pestage murmured with wide open eyes.

"What about retinal scans?" a nerf helmeted form demanded.

Kiwi!

"I do not see Ysanne Isard among the dead," the Sand Panther pointed out.

The foursome glared at Pestage, who worked enough moisture into his dry mouth to squeak, "She, uh, left the meeting early."

"Why?" the Dalyrake demanded, pushing a gloved hand against the old man's throat.

"I, uh, think she was bored," he managed to force out.

There was a pause and then Ziwi gestured at the holoscreen, "That makes sense, anyway. What in all the star systems is a WINT CRAT?"

"Bureaucratic types just love acronyms," commented the Dalyrake in a galaxy weary way.

"Let's keep him alive," the Kiwi figure suggested casually. "As I said, we might need his retinal scan to get into some of the top secret areas around the palace."

"We can get into most of the top secret spots," the Sand Panther intoned coldly. "We have the hard wired codes."

"Some of the top secret spots, _some_ of them," Ziwi argued. "You know Palpatine didn't trust us that much. There are no doubt places we can't get into but Pestage can."

"I want to kill him," Kiwi snapped. "He's directly responsible for the operation on Carida which took our parents and resulted in our abduction."

"I ... I ...," Pestage gasped, his brain whirling. He was going to die, right here, right now.

"Crista just commed me," the Dalyrake said, lifting its head. "She's located Ysanne Isard. She's holed up in the Command Center of the Security Office here in the palace. I'm afraid it's pretty well protected."

There were various mutterings and imprecations from the Super Beings while Pestage held his breath, wondering from second to second when a blaster bolt would finish him off.

"Fine, let's take him," Kiwi grumbled. "Like you said, Sis, retinal scan."

Sis?

/

_Security Office Command Center_

_Imperial Palace_

_10 minutes later_

The last stormtrooper collapsed as his top half was bisected from his lower half. The Sand Panther straightened and glanced around carefully. Some three dozen stormtroopers lay in white, dead heaps around the corridor, leaving only the Corellian Super Beings standing.

"Can we cut through the door?" Kiwi asked practically, striding toward the door into the Command Center.

"No," the Sand Panther replied irritably. "It is magnetically shielded and the entire wall and door are impregnated with cortosis ore, which will cause our lightsabers to short out on contact."

"That's inconvenient," Ziwi muttered. "It's too bad they apparently were alerted that we were coming. Can we blow the command center up?"

Again, the Sand Panther shook his head, "It would be difficult to do so without damaging ourselves. Solo, perhaps you and Chewbacca would guard the exit and alert us if additional troops arrive from the outside? The rest of us need to confer on the best approach."

"We're on it," Han replied even as he jerked a head at his bleached furry companion, "Come on, Chewie."

Vader waited until they had left before turning to his twins, "It is possible the ceiling of the Command Center is vulnerable. I plan to cut through the ceiling here and ..."

"No, I should do it," Leia interrupted. "I'm smaller and can move through ventilation shafts more readily."

"I will not allow you to take such a risk," the Sand Panther replied with a firm shake of the head, "it is unlikely that any of the Imperial leadership is within the Command Center, but it will be well guarded and the defensive fire will be heavy ..."

"Isard is in there."

The Dalyrake spun around in surprise, her two white lightsabers lifted high. The young Twi'lek female, who had been hiding behind a large and ugly statue of the Emperor, flinched and lurched backwards in distress.

"Please don't kill me!" she cried out. "I'm Crista!"

"You're who?" Ziwi demanded.

"Crista," the young female replied, her blue face and lekku paling in terror. "We just spoke on the com!"

The Super Beings gaped or frowned or puckered their lips in bewilderment behind their masks, just as a section of the corridor slid aside to reveal a hidden door; a moment later, an armored figure stepped into the passage.

The Sand Panther leaped forward to protect his children and then halted in amazement.

"Who are you?" he demanded of the shorter Sand Panther in front of him.

"Who are you?" a female voice snapped back even as another figure slipped into position besides new Sand Panther. This one was dressed as the Dalyrake and moved with grim determination towards the tall form.

The situation was, Ahsoka Tano decided, a mixture of bewildering and hilarious, but she was afraid Vader would start killing people so she quickly moved forward next to her former master's side.

"We're the Corellian Super Beings," she explained patiently. "Who are you?"

The two intruders exchanged startled glances.

"The real Super Beings?" two female voices asked in chorus.

Luke and Leia sighed and shook their heads as Kiwi and Ziwi stepped into the open space. Between them was elderly bald man, his hands bound behind him, dressed in fancy black synthsilk robes.

This. Was. Crazy!

Vader seemed to agree, because he extended one hand. A moment later, all four individuals squawked or yelped in dismay even as they reached up and tried to keep their masks on their heads.

And failed. The masks lifted off and were hurled to one side, revealing four startled faces.

"Vess Kogo. Mara Jade. And the Silk twins," the Sand Panther rumbled. "What is this?"

"You know them?" Kiwi demanded.

"Indeed," Darth Vader stated coldly. "They are Emperor's Hands."

All four Hands flinched in surprise and then Mara took a step forward even as she tossed her head angrily, "We are former Emperor's Hands. _ Former_. Palpatine was a slaver and a murderer and we're glad he is dead. Now it is time to take out the last of the three who currently rule."

"I find that unlikely," Vader intoned coldly. "The Hands were always slavishly devoted to their Master."

Jade took a step forward, her eyes narrowed, her face tight with fury, "_Each _Hand was slavishly devoted to _his or her_ Master. We didn't know there were many of us. Each one of us thought we were unique and special, when in fact we were minor cogs in the Imperial wheel. Aralina and Brilana were both told that their twin had died at the hands of assassins. My parents were murdered by Imperial troops. Kogo's mother was injured during an uprising on Hanofar which was directly caused by the Empire's crippling taxation on the population. We hate Palpatine, and his Empire, and all those who seek to continue its rancid rule over the oppressed masses of the galaxy."

"For that matter," Vess Kogo continued suspiciously, "who are you? If you know who we are, you must be pretty high up in the Empire. Maybe this whole Corellian Super Being nonsense is just a way for some other high Imperial official to take control. If so, we will not stand by and allow it. The Empire must fall."

"You have no say in what we do," the Sand Panther snarled, taking a step forward to loom over his shorter counterpart.

"Stop," Ziwi said, putting a small hand up to halt her tall biological father. Leia hesitated briefly, then reached up to remove her helmet.

"I am Princess Leia Organa," she said gravely. "I promise you that the Super Beings have no intention of taking over the Empire in its present form."

Mara Jade gasped in astonishment, "Organa? Of Alderaan? A Rebel?"

"Yes," Luke agreed, taking off his own mask. "I'm Luke Skywalker. I destroyed the Death Star."

The Silk twins exchanged shocked looks and Brilana took a step forward, "I'm Bri. Very nice to meet you, Skywalker. Are you, by any chance, available in the romantic sense?"

There was a horrified squawk from Leia and a sudden intake of breath from the Sand Panther. Luke looked flummoxed and then laughed as sly smiles broke out on the faces of both Silk twins.

"I gather you are something of a character, Brilana Silk?" he asked with a grin.

"More or less," Aralina replied, elbowing her sister in the ribs. "Cut it out Bri. You're going to get us all killed."

"So you are all Rebels?" Mara Jade demanded suspiciously.

Leia shrugged and gave Vader the side eye.

"Most of us are," she qualified. "The Sand Panther is more of ... an independent agent. Anyway, I see you have Pestage in custody ..."

"And Ars Dangor is dead, killed in our initial attack in the conference room," Brilana said, still smiling at Luke.

"Where is Isard?" the Sand Panther demanded. He had sidled closer to his son and was glaring at Brilana Silk. She was an attractive woman, as was her sister. As was, for that matter, Mara Jade. But he would not allow his son to take up with a former Emperor's Hand for a new set of lungs.

"Ysanne Isard is holed up in the Security Center," the Twi'lek female murmured softly.

"Are you Crista?" Mara demanded.

"Yes," Crista replied, her gaze skittering from the red haired woman to the still masked Super Beings. "I don't understand what is going on."

"We are not the real Corellian Super Beings," Vess Kogo explained wryly. "We dressed up as the Super Beings for the shock and awe response so we could take out the triumvirate running the Empire, but apparently the real group decided to take on Isard and her minions at the same time we did."

"Isard does not rule!" Sate Pestage suddenly blurted out. This was, he decided a moment later, a mistake. No one had been paying attention to him until this moment. The Sand Panther strode forward and lifted a cyborg hand to grasp the old man's chin, which he forced upwards.

"It is well that you have captured Pestage," the Panther hissed. "You have much to answer for, Pestage, for placing astronomic Dead or Alive bounties on the heads of my children."

"Uh, uh," Pestage sputtered in terror.

"Children?" Kogo asked in a bewildered tone.

"Luke and I are twins," Leia explained quickly, "which is complicated. Listen, let's deal with Isard and then straighten the situation out later."

"How are we going to get into the Command Center?" Ahsoka demanded. "It's very well defended. The ceiling idea makes me itch, Skyguy."

"We brought Pestage along because we can get into the Command Center using his retinal scan," Jade stated.

The Sand Panther smiled grimly behind his mask, "Excellent thinking, Hands. Most excellent."

"We aren't Hands anymore," Mara snapped angrily.

/-

_Command Center_

Ysanne Isard strode frantically back and forth in the narrow space between countless terminals. She was lucky, she knew that. She had left the Command Meeting more out of boredom than a genuine emergency, though it was true that she had to discipline her cook, who had botched her lunch of deep fried gorg. She knew he had because her stomach was upset and it had to be the cook's fault.

She had been only halfway to the Imperial Palace Kitchen when the internal security alarms had sounded. Isard had promptly scuttled to nearest safe place, the Command Center, and watched in horror on the security holos as the Corellian Super Beings had destroyed sentients and random chairs in Meeting Room #1 of the palace before destroying the holos.

Regrettably, the Super Beings had attacked the Command Center itself a few minutes later, again destroying the holos, so she was pinned down here. For now. Ranking officer Captain Lapta had called for reinforcements 15 minutes ago, and troops would soon make their way to rescue her. She was, at least, perfectly safe here in the Command Center, which was built like a fortress.

And with Dangor and Pestage dead, well ...

Ysanne Isard smiled. This was actually perfect. She had been plotting to kill both of her co-rulers, but these Super Beings had taken care of the job for her. Soon she would rule the Empire.

Empress Isard. It had a nice ring.

The door to the Command Center slid open. Isard spun around with a yelp of surprise even as she fumbled for her blaster. A moment later, bolts were flying toward the door from both her weapon and those of the 10 guards on duty.

The blaster bolts were met by, and blocked with, an array of lightsabers. Isard backed up in shock as the helmeted forms of the Corellian Super Beings stormed into the room, lightsabers flashing. Eight guards charged forward and were promptly cut down, while the remaining two dropped their blasters and backed away with hands in the air, obviously not willing to die. Isard's own blaster suddenly pulled hard against her hand and then flew into the waiting grasp of Ziwi, who had the helmet of a starbird today.

"Stand down, Isard," Kiwi ordered, stepping forward and lifting his blue lightsaber against the woman's throat. She took a deep breath and dropped her hands, willing herself to stay calm.

"How did you get in here?" she demanded.

"Retinal scan," a red headed woman said with a grim smile, "courtesy of Sate Pestage."

Isard narrowed her eyes in rage. So this was all a trick on Pestage's part? He was behind the Corellian Super Beings? A moment later, a pale faced Sate Pestage was hauled into the room by a white furred Wookiee and Isard realized that whatever else was going on, it wasn't some kind of coup of the Grand Vizier of the Empire. Pestage was bound with cuffs and was sporting a black eye.

"How dare you come in here?" Isard demanded, deciding on anger as opposed to conciliation. "My troops are on their way and you have no authority here. You'll never get out of here alive."

"Actually," Ziwi said cheerfully, pointing toward the nearby refresher, "we do have some authority here. Or he does."

Ysanne Isard turned toward the refresher in bewilderment. Fifteen seconds ticked by and then the door slid open to reveal the tall and menacing form of ...

"Darth Vader," she whispered.

_Author Note: Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate. And thanks to my wonderful husband and editor! And thank you to those of you taking time to review this fic. I appreciate it!_


	17. Chapter 17

_Command Center_

_Imperial Palace_

_Imperial City_

_Imperial Center_

"Darth Vader," Isard whispered.

"Impossible!" Pestage snarled angrily, straightening his body. "Vader disappeared months ago. He is dead and gone!"

"Now I am back," Vader stated coldly, lifting a hand towards the old man. Pestage promptly gasped and jerked as the invisible talons closed around his neck. With his hands bound behind him, he couldn't even reach for his throat.

"Father, stop it," Luke ordered, reaching out to block his father's Force choke. "Just because you are back in that hideous black armor doesn't mean you have to start choking people all over the place."

Pestage gasped in life giving oxygen as air filled his lungs, even as the former Emperor's Hands froze in astonishment.

"Um," Brilana muttered softly. "Forget what I asked about your romantic availability, Skywalker. If Vader's your dad, then no way!"

Mara was made of sterner stuff, "He isn't really Vader. I've met Vader many times and he is taller. Obviously whoever you are, you're a trained Force Sensitive, but you're not Vader."

Vader turned toward the auburn woman and took a menacing step forward, only to be halted by the telepathic rebukes of his twins.

"_Father, don't!"_ Luke ordered.

"_We will deal with this,"_ Leia added.

"_As you wish."_

"Jade," Leia said aloud, turning toward the redhead. "Indeed, all of you. Our situation is, I'm sure you realize, quite precarious in that there are a substantial number of troops no doubt headed this way."

"That is correct," Ysanne stated coldly. "And when they arrive, you will all be destroyed."

"Therefore," Leia continued, ignoring the red and blue eyed woman, "it makes sense to have 'Lord Vader'" – here she lifted her hands and made air quotes with her fingers – "take command because he is greatly respected in the Empire. Don't you think?"

"Oh!" Mara exclaimed, nodding. "I see."

"_Really, Princess?" _her father demanded telepathically. "_I am entirely capable of destroying all those who oppose us."_

"_And I would like to avoid a bloodbath," _Leia riposted.

"There are troops gathering in the outer corridor," Solo commented.

The two groups of Corellian Super Beings all looked at the monitors and Vader strode over to the closed door

"I assume I am permitted to go deal with this situation?" he asked in a sarcastic voice.

"I'm coming with you," Luke said determinedly.

"Be careful," Ahsoka murmured aloud, then added telepathically, "_I'll watch the twins' backs, Skyguy._"

Her former master nodded and gestured towards the lock; the door opened with a swish.

The resulting rain of blaster fired was reflected partially with the Force, partially with the purple and blue lightsabers which buzzed and hummed and swerved. The troops in the corridor fell from the deflected bolts for a full 8 seconds before a startled lieutenant called a halt to the attack.

"Lord Vader?" he called out. "My Lord, is that you?"

"Indeed," Vader replied, striding forward. "Lieutenant Venka, I am here to take command of the Empire. Do you wish to oppose me?"

The young lieutenant gulped in astonishment before shaking his head rapidly. He knew he was spoiled somewhat by his well connected relations here on Imperial Center, but he wasn't stupid enough to counter anything that came out of the vocoder of Darth Vader.

"No, my Lord. All troops stand down," the man ordered, then lowered himself on one knee. "Ah ... your Highness, it is my honor to welcome you to Imperial City and to the palace where you will reign."

"Rise, _Captain_ Venka," Vader ordered.

"_This is so uncomfortable,"_ Luke complained telepathically.

/-

_Imperial Holonet Studio #3_

_Imperial City_

_Imperial Center_

_60 minutes later_

"After 2 hours at 150 degrees, the pie is ready, a dish fit for the most delicate palate!"  
Chef Rosen enthused, gazing with dewy eyed delight at the food sitting on the counter in front of him.

Relinka Spetzv took a deep breath and forced a smile. She was a very experienced Holonet host and was in the Galactic Dictionary under 'cheery', but this was a bit much.

"So how do the, uh, Klisnat insects actually taste?" she asked brightly even as bile rose in her esophagus.

Rosen's eyes grew even wider, if possible.

"Host Spetzv," he exclaimed loudly enough that Relinka flinched slightly. "They are wonderful! Their little legs are so crunchy, and the bodies make a delightful popping sounds when your teeth bite into them."

"_I'm going to be sick,"_ Relinka thought to herself. "_At least I'm wearing green today, which should match ..."_

The door to the studio suddenly blew open with a crash, which made Relinka suddenly and thankfully forget her roiling stomach. A moment later, a tall and menacing form strode into the room, respirator cycling dramatically.

Now she was going to faint.

"Lord Vader?" Chef Rosen squeaked aloud, his face pale.

"Indeed, it is I," the Dark Lord thundered. "I have returned to take over my Empire."

/-

_Shuttle_

_Imperial City_

_2 hours later_

"So did that go well?" Luke asked worriedly.

"Y ... e ... s," Leia replied thoughtfully, reading her holopad busily. "Needless to say, our father's decision to gatecrash the cooking portion of the afternoon Imperial Holonet show is getting a lot of coverage. The social media has blown up and the holofiles are being sent everywhere."

"It was way better than the cooking show," Solo commented with a shake of his head. "Klisnet insect pie? That is just nasty."

Chewbacca roared with some enthusiasm and his pilot shook his head, "Ok, but you're a Wookiee. As a human, I find the thought of insect pie totally revolting."

The shuttle rocked slightly and Luke glanced out the transparisteel windows and began removing his restraints, "Looks like we're here."

"And where is here exactly?" Brilana asked curiously, her bright eyes focused on Luke. On one hand, Vader was scary. On the other hand, Mara Jade was quite sure it wasn't really Vader, and this young man was so cute!

"My palace," Darth Vader intoned, striding out of the cockpit. "It will be a safe place for us to rest and regroup, much preferable to the Imperial Palace where Isard and her cohorts have been running amok these many months."

"Er, this is, um, your palace?" Aralina Silk asked worriedly.

"Yes, why?" the former Sith demanded ominously.

The Silk twins exchanged glances and Vess Kogo spoke, "It is well known that Ars Dangor took over Lord Vader's ... your palace six months ago. It is probably ... altered."

The temperature of the cabin dropped noticeably for all the Force users and Mara shivered openly.

"Father, calm down," Luke ordered, putting a restraining hand on the great arm. He turned to the Hands and asked courteously, "Do you have any idea what changes have occurred? Is it less secure?"

Mara shook her head decidedly, "Dangor definitely wanted security so no, it should be secure; though I'm not sure about the codes into the rooms ..."

"I have the hard wired codes," Vader snapped. He was clearly still agitated.

"It's probably all weirdly artistic," Bri chimed in with a shudder. "Ars Dangor thought himself quite the patron of the arts, but they were demented artists."

"We can handle weird art," Luke stated firmly.

"I hope so," Mara murmured.

/-

_Jade/Silk suite_

_Vader's Palace_

_1 hour later_

Mara Jade stared moodily out of the window at the fireworks exploding from the roof of the building in which they were currently residing.

"We should have run while we had the chance," she said with a shake of her head.

"And been killed for our pains?" Aralina asked irritably. "I think not."

"We're highly trained," Jade snapped.

"Vader, or the Pretend Vader, is far more trained than we are in the Force, Mara," Bri said quietly. "I know this situation is uncertain and nerve wracking, but at least the Hideous Threesome are dead and/or imprisoned."

"I just hope these people aren't worse," the redhead muttered gloomily. She knew the Silk twins were right; whoever these people were, they way outclassed the former Hands in terms of Force ability. But still ...

The door to their quarters slid open and Mara and the Silk twins spun around. Luke Skywalker walked in with Leia Organa at his heels.

"This ... isn't bad," Skywalker commented, looking around at the ceramic fish which covered every square meter of the room.

"It's pretty bad," Brilana stated sullenly.

"It's too busy," Organa agreed critically, "but I assure you most of the other rooms are far worse."

Skywalker groaned and passed a weary hand across his face, "My room is pink with oblong sculptures all over. It's a nightmare."

"You can have my room," Leia said slyly.

Luke quivered, "No, the last thing I need is a room decorated in tans and ochres with sand sculptures leaking nasty little particles all over the floors. Way too much like Tatooine."

"I found drinks and grub!" Solo announced, bouncing into the room with the Wookiee at his heels.

"Three cheers for food!" Luke yelped.

"And moderate drinking," Leia agreed, stepping forward to help her love place a bunch of snacks and beverages on a random table.

"You will join us, won't you?" Skywalker asked, turning his attention on the three former Hands who were staring at them with a mixture of interest, hunger, thirst, longing and doubt.

"Sure," Brilana said eagerly, stepping forward and grabbing a dweezel stick and a small bottle of ebla beer.

"Where is Vess Kogo?" Mara demanded suspiciously.

"He's with Father," Skywalker explained with a wave of the hand, "but don't worry. Ahsoka's with him and she said she'd make sure Father doesn't kill the poor man."

"Why Kogo and not us?" Aralina demanded.

Leia sighed noticeably, "We suggested Kogo because he is male and not a possible temptation to Luke's romantic sensibilities. It decreases the risk of Vader lashing out in a protective frenzy. He's better than he was, but he still has his moments."

Mara gritted her teeth and shook her head. Enough of this dancing around. She needed to know.

"Who is he, really?" she demanded. "Like I said, I know Vader. I've been in his presence. I've stood next to him. Whoever this man is, he is not Vader. He's at least 5 centimeters shorter and the respirator isn't quite right either."

Luke and Leia exchanged glances and a silent message passed between them.

"He really is Vader," Leia said softly. "He's had a substantial amount of medical treatment in the last months and his cybernetic limbs were replaced with shorter ones which are healthier for him. He needs far less breathing support also so we cobbled something together to make the sounds so people would know it was Vader."

Mara shook her head to clear it, "But Skywalker, you said he was your ..."

"Father," Luke said gravely. "Yes, he is. He was born Anakin Skywalker and joined Palpatine about 20 years ago for ... complicated reasons. Then when my name surfaced as the destroyer of the Death Star, he realized that I had survived my birth though Palpatine had lied and said I had died along with my mother. She actually died during childbirth. My father turned against Palpatine, sabotaged his hyperbaric chamber, and killed him via decompression sickness."

There was a united gasp from the three former Hands.

"Vader killed Palpatine?" Aralina yelped.

"That is a totally awesome way to assassinate someone!" Brilana murmured in awe.

"If this is true, I like him a lot better now," Mara finished.

"It _is_ true," Leia said gravely. "After he left the Empire, we ran into each other during a mission and figured out quickly that I am Luke's twin and therefore Darth Vader's biological daughter."

Mara frowned at the woman's words even as her expression softened, "I heard reports of your previous interactions with Vader, Princess."

The diminutive woman bit her lip and nodded, "It has been a difficult thing to cope with, Jade."

"I'm sure."

"So to be clear," Brilana said abruptly. "I am not interested in you anymore, Skywalker. Your father is too scary. How about you, tall, dark and handsome. Are you available?"

"No!" Leia snapped, her expression morphing from sorrowful to determined.

Aralina lifted a placating hand, "She's joking, Princess Leia. Bri, cut it out. You're going to get us killed."

"Anyone else you know of who is looking for a former Emperor's Hand with emotional issues and a bad job at the _Manarai _restaurant?" Bri asked slyly, leaning forward to pick up a piece of blue milk cheese.

Luke laughed, "We'll keep our eyes open, Brilana Silk."


	18. Chapter 18

_Prince Xizor's private office_

_Scruffy Office Building (secret base for the Black Sun criminal syndicate)_

_10 km from Imperial City _

_Imperial Center_

_The next day_

"All is prepared, my prince," Guri stated, her hands clasped behind her in a parade rest position.

"Excellent," Prince Xizor replied, lifting his eyes from his datapad. "And my second fleet is standing by?"

"Yes, my prince. Six parsecs out from Imperial Center."

"Good," Xizor murmured absently, shutting down the holopad and rising to his feet. He shot one last glance around the room, which was decorated with a lavish opulence appropriate to the leader of Black Sun, the foremost criminal syndicate in the galaxy. He would miss this room. It had proven a safe and secret haven when he had needed a little quiet away from his servants and minions in his personal palace in Imperial City.

The tall Falleen strode forward and ran his right hand down the immense opee sea killer statue which rested near to his desk. It was made out of Alderaanian marble and given the destruction of its native planet, the sculpture was worth millions of credits. He would send some minions to collect it once he was safely away. It was too heavy to bother with now.

Guri, the human replica robot and his second in command in Black Sun, waited patiently by the door. She was programmed to be patient. She would indeed stand for hours, her beautiful face calm, her long blond hair perfectly coifed, if he so desired it. But now he did not. He must flee Imperial Center for safer havens now that Darth Vader had returned.

Xizor's teeth clenched as he turned abruptly and strode out of the door with Guri at his heels. Vader! The cyborg Sith was responsible for the death of Xizor's entire family due to a biological weapons experiment gone wrong almost a decade previously. Vader had ordered the destruction of an entire city on Xizor's homeworld to prevent the spread of the rogue pathogen and Xizor's family had perished along with many of its subjects.

Xizor hated Vader with a deep, abiding, and vengeful passion. He would make the Dark Lord of the Sith pay. Eventually.

But not now. It was clear from news and spy reports that Vader had quickly consolidated his hold on Imperial Center after taking out the threesome previously in charge after Palpatine's death. No, it was time to flee, to gather his strength, before Xizor found a way to destroy the Sith and take over the Empire on his own terms.

Emperor Xizor. It had a nice ring.

The shuttle waiting on the roof of the grungy cloudscraper looked ordinary enough, but it was augmented with additional weaponry and shields. Guri would pilot the ship into hyperspace and they would rendezvous with a Black Sun fleet. From there, they would proceed to Ryloth, which was currently under Black Sun control after the death of Jabba the Hutt left a power vacuum in that region of space. Tatooine was, of course, another option but no, too much sand. It was so rough, and coarse, and irritating.

Xizor strode in and settled with a happy groan into his opulent private chair. He quickly strapped himself in, and then began the chair's twenty minute massage protocol while the shuttle's protocol droid poured him a drink of emerald wine. Even if he was fleeing for his life, there was no reason to do it without appropriate luxury.

Xizor leaned back as the mechanics of the chair back massaged his aching muscles. He closed his eyes as the shuttle lifted into the atmosphere at Guri's command. He was tired. The last few hours had been frenetic as he gave orders to loyal underlings, arranged for his escape from Imperial Center, and killed a few random minions to show that he was as tough as Darth Vader.

Not that he really was. Xizor had plenty of self-confidence and skill but realistically, Darth Vader was a one man army. It was quite irritating of Palpatine to have died unexpectedly from pneumonia the previous year. Xizor had been plotting to turn the Siths against one another and then, bam, an illness had taken the old man out. Of course, Palpatine had been old and wrinkled and quite a smoker. It was, perhaps, not so terribly surprising.

But it had been inconvenient.

Outside the shuttle, Xizor watched as the purple sunset gave way to greenish clouds which gave way to the darkness of space, interspersed with the steady light of distant stars. He leaned back and closed his eyes, thinking hard. His immediate underlings in Black Sun, known as Vigos, were toiling away, preparing to consolidate Black Sun holdings on Imperial planets just in case Vader moved quickly against Xizor.

He sighed again, opened his eyes, took another sip of emerald wine, then sat up suddenly in shock. Outside, in near space, loomed the gigantic form of a Star Destroyer. What was Guri doing? She had been instructed to take a longitudinal route to the northern pole of Imperial Center, where the Imperial Fleet was less dense. There was no reason to be this close to an Imperial Star Destroyer.

The Falleen Prince bit his blue lips in exasperation and quickly removed his safety straps. The protocol droid gibbered something about safety in flight, but he ignored it as he strode toward the cockpit, palmed open the door, and stormed in.

"Guri, what ...?" he began, before trailing off in shock.

"I am sorry, my prince," the disembodied head of his human replica droid said from where it sat tidily on the co-pilot's control panel. "I was unable to stop them."

Xizor reached for his blaster even as he noted, peripherally, the body of Guri lying in a pathetic heap to one side of the cockpit.

Before he could squeeze off a shot at any of the three other sentients in the cockpit, the blaster was yanked from his hand with incredible power and then soared into the hand of the individual in the co-pilot's seat, a small armored form with a mask in the shape of a glitterfly.

"Put your hands up," a voice ordered, pointing the blaster at the stunned prince. The voice was distinctly feminine and young, her form slim and slight.

Xizor raised his hands slowly even as he looked carefully around the cockpit. Another armored figure sat in the pilot's seat and its mask was one of a ... it looked like a loth-cat?

The other figure stood leaning casually against one wall and its mask was merely gray, similar to a Mandalorian though not as stylized. This individual also held a blaster, which was pointed straight at Xizor's heart.

"Very well," Xizor replied nodding carefully. "I surrender to the inevitable."

"Good," the standing minion snapped, "Sit down right there."

Xizor obeyed and allowed his hands to be manacled behind his back, his legs chained together. They were taking no chance.

"And may I ask who I have the honor of hosting?" he asked courteously, his eyes fixed on the female. The voice had been young and feminine and the Falleen were capable of producing pheromones on will that were very enticing to females of the human and near human persuasion. He would speak politely, and exude the appropriate chemicals, and with any luck at all the woman could be persuaded to assist him in escaping his bondage. He smiled slightly even as he focused on the appropriate cascade of chemicals. He noted the skin on his left arm shifting red. Good.

"Yuck!" the (male) pilot suddenly said in a startled voice. "What is that?"

"It is odd," the woman replied, her mask pointed at Xizor. "It's like a chemical attraction of some sort ..."

"Huh," the standing minion commented. "There are rumors that the Falleen are capable of sending out pheromones which can strongly attract members of the opposite gender."

"Yuck!" chorused Xizor's other captors.

"Cut it out," the woman stated, even as her mask lifted off her face and hovered in the air. "Or I'll knock you out. Ick."

Prince Xizor's mouth hung open, "Leia Organa!"

"Also, Ziwi, of the Corellian Super Beings," she replied with a sly grin.

"Why ... what do you want?" the alien sputtered, his eyes wide in shock.

"We're turning you over to Vader," Leia Organa stated viciously.

"Now Leia," the pilot commented, taking off his own mask (also without using his hands). "Don't be mean."

The boy, and he was merely a boy, with dark blond hair and blue eyes, gave the furious and frightened Falleen a reassuring smile, "We won't let him do anything too horrible to you."

"You are fools," the Black Sun leader stated with a glance at the Super Star Destroyer looming nearby, "if you imagine you will have any influence over Vader."

"We have quite a bit of influence, actually," the youth replied in a sunny tone.

Xizor clenched his teeth and glanced at Guri, whose blue eyes were looking around the cockpit with interest. This was very bad.

The situation seemed even worse ten minutes later, when Xizor found himself being paddy frog marched down the ramp into a landing bay where, sure enough, a two meter cyborg stood waiting.

"What were you thinking?" Darth Vader thundered. Xizor actually flinched in terror before realizing that the Sith's attention was on the Corellian Super Beings.

"Calm down, Father," the youth replied insouciantly.

_What?!_

"You were off planet," Organa continued impatiently. "We received word that Xizor was about to flee, so we took the opportunity to collect him. We were in no danger."

Vader stared first at the boy, then at the girl, then at the minion at their heels.

"Solo?" he hissed dangerously.

"Hey, I just work with them. If you can't control them, don't expect me to!"

"No torture, Lord Vader," the girl stated coldly. "Is that clear?"

The Dark Lord actually shifted back a step and nodded, "Entirely clear, Princess Leia."

"Can I have the weird human replica droid?" the blond youth asked, his blue eyes enthusiastic. "She's very interesting."

"She's an assassin, Luke. Did you leave her loose on the ship?"

"Well, we chopped her head off first," the princess commented.

"Guards, take Xizor away," Vader ordered absently before looking at the shuttle, "Son, why don't you and I inspect the droid together?"

"Sounds great!"

A very bewildered Prince Xizor, Falleen leader of Black Sun, found himself being marched away toward a random elevator. The situation was obviously dire and terrible but mostly he felt astonished.

Darth Vader had a son?

/-

_Imperial Holonet Studio_

_ The next morning (early)_

Relinka Spetzv took a deep calming breath and plastered on a nervous smile. She was dressed appropriately in dull gray attire, and her hair was a calm brown. She'd even foregone her famous twinkly eye make-up. She was as ready as she'd ever be.

Which wasn't very ready.

"Lord Vader," she began extremely politely, "or should it be Emperor Vader?"

"Lord Vader suffices for now," the cyborg replied calmly.

"So," the woman pronounced, "you have taken control of the Empire. Is there anything you wish to impart to your loyal subjects?"

"There is," Vader announced. "I wish to introduce two individuals who mean a great deal to me."

The current Imperial leader gestured toward a side door, which swooshed open dramatically.

"Host Spetzv, Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker."

Relinka gasped in genuine shock and turned toward the door, which remained ... empty.

There was a huff from the Dark Lord and the Holonet host cringed. Twenty very long seconds rolled by before a white robed young woman suddenly raced into the room, her dark braided hair flying behind her.

"I'm so sorry," the woman said meekly. "Luke got caught up with repairing that stupid droid and Chewie splashed muja sauce on my outfit so I had to change. Anyway, I'm here now and he'll be along in like ... 30 seconds. Host Spetzv, my apologies for my late arrival. I'm Leia Organa."

Relinka blinked in astonishment, "Leia Organa, of, um, Alderaan?"

"Yes," the girl replied, rising to her full diminutive height. She was truly tiny for such a fiery person. "I am the last princess of lost Alderaan."

"And, pardon me," Spetzv replied with a nervous glance at Vader, "are you not a member of that terrorist organization known as the Rebellion?"

"That's us," a new voice proclaimed cheerfully. Relinka turned, like an automaton, to face a young man of perhaps 20, dressed in a practical tan outfit, with dark blond hair and blue eyes.

He was cute!

"I'm Luke Skywalker," the youth continued. "Sorry I'm late."

"Is the droid giving you any problems?" Darth Vader demanded in an ominous tone.

Skywalker looked startled, "No, no. She and R2D2 got into some complex argument about subroutines and it was so fascinating I lost track of time. No, she's fine. Not murderous at all at the moment."

"That is well," Vader intoned, even as he stepped forward to place one great hand on Skywalker's shoulder and the other on Organa's shoulder.

"Host Spetzv, I wish to introduce you, and the myriad peoples of the galaxy, to my twin children, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa."

Relinka's eyes bugged out.

"What?!"

"Darth Vader is formerly Anakin Skywalker," Skywalker explained, his blue eyes flashing with enthusiasm. "He and our mother got married and had us and then things pretty much went to Chaos ..."

"It's very complicated," Organa chimed in. "But the point is that the Empire in its previous incarnation is done. Our father is not going to set himself up as Emperor."

"No, I am not," Vader added smugly, "because my children will rule."

"We won't rule," Organa stated, her head shaking firmly. "We will guide the process of restoring democracy."

"I question the efficacy of democracy," the Sith replied, "but I submit to your remarkable political acumen."

"Excellent. Our first step will be to coordinate a peace treaty between the Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic. We wish for a cease fire of all hostilities as soon as possible ..."

Another random door slid open, cutting the princess off, and Relinka jerked in astonishment as a group of masked figures strode into the room.

"The Corellian Superbeings," she squawked.

"What are you doing here?" Vader demanded harshly of the Sand Panther, who stood a meter ahead of his cohorts Ziwi, Kiwi, and the Dalyrake.

"Slavery must be stamped out in the Empire," the Sand Panther hissed. "We insist upon it."

"That sounds great to me!" Skywalker replied agreeably.

"Absolutely!" Leia Organa chimed in, channeling her inner fan girl. "Can I please get your holograph? I just love your work."

There was a disconcerted shuffling among the Superbeings before Ziwi stepped forward, "Sure thing, Princess Leia. Can you hold this disembodied head of the slave trader Rylon Rent? I need to find something to write on."

"Take my holopad," Leia suggested graciously, handing over the pad even as she delicately used the Force to lift the black haired noggin of the slave trader.

Relinka gritted her teeth and worked on not throwing up. Darth Vader, twin little Vaders, Corellian Super Beings, and a decapitated cranium floating in the air. This was just too much for the early morning show.

/-

_Restaurant_

_Sub-basement of the Imperial Palace_

_2 hours later_

"So let me get this straight," Mara Jade mused, her eyes fixed on her glass of blue milk, "you originally took on the personas of the Corellian Super Beings to conceal your true identities."

"Right," Luke Skywalker agreed enthusiastically. "We wanted to be able to go back to our 'normal' lives, inasmuch as our lives could ever be normal, when we wanted to."

"And now," Mara continued, "you want to make it clear that you aren't really the Super Beings so that when you want to, you can slip into your Super Being costumes and run off and do exciting non-political things on occasion."

"Exactly," Luke chortled, taking a bite of a dweezel stick. "Thank you so much for helping out. Your attack on that slave facility last night and the decapitated head in the studio were perfect. No one will think Vader and his twins are the Super Beings when we all met up in Relinka Spetzv's studio on the live Holonet."

Jade leaned back and lifted her eyebrows, "You have a very complicated life, Skywalker."

"We do, and a complicated and bizarre family. But ... I think we're headed in the right direction. Father really isn't interested in ruling and Leia is a phenomenal politician. She'll do a fantastic job."

"And what will you do, Skywalker?"

"Oh, probably stand around looking decorative some of the time, and go off hunting slavers with Father at other times."

"Sounds like fun. Maybe I can help with the slaver part on occasion?"

"You bet."

The red headed former Emperor's Hand and the Tatooine farmboy clicked their blue milk glasses together and smiled.

"Hey, Boss!" a new voice cried out.

Luke turned in his chair and then leaped to his feet at the sight of his old wingmate.

"Wedge! It's great to see you!"

"It's amazing to see you! I seriously thought you were dead and then poof, you show up on Relinka Spetzv's show as Vader's son. Is it really true, Luke?"

The youth's expression shifted from happy to solemn, "Yeah, Wedge, it is true."

"And the princess is your sister?!"

"Wedge, don't even talk about ..."

"And here we thought you had quite the crush on her ..."

"Wedge!"

"And who is this?"

Luke turned with relief to the Silk twins, who had just strolled into the room.

"Brilana and Aralina Silk, may I introduce you to Wedge Antilles, halfway decent pilot and my wing man during the Death Star battle."

Brilana grinned openly, "So, Son of Vader, what about this guy? Is he available? Does he happen to have a psychotic Sith Lord father?"

"Yes, and no," Luke replied firmly.

Brilana placed a hand on Wedge's shoulder, "Let me buy you a glass of blue milk, flyboy."

/

_Author Note: First, thank you to those patiently waiting on updates. I have, I kid you not, 4 separate stories I am working on right now. Why do I do this to myself? Second, thank you, precious and wonderful husband, for editing for me! Oh, Xizor and Guri are from the book "Shadows of the Empire" which is quite good. It takes place between ESB and ROTJ._


	19. Chapter 19

_Studio 3_

_Rancor Productions_

_Coronet City_

_Corellia_

_3 years later_

"I want them to fly," starlet Quianna Jane stated, her tone firm even as tears sprang into her brown eyes. "They need to fly, Kal."

Director Kal Trusk sighed inwardly even as he pasted a smile on his face, "Quianna, baby, we've already talked about this."

"No, Kal, _you _talked about it!" the woman pouted. "What is the point of buying amazing movable crystalline birds and fish for the holovid and just setting the figurines on random podiums? This is my big speech at the end of the movie! They need to fly."

"We don't have the budget for that kind of special effect, Quianna!" Kal exclaimed, lifting his hands in exasperation. "If _The Return of the Corellian Superbeings_ does well, maybe we can make a sequel and make the birds fly, but right now we just need to finish the last scenes and be done. We're already over budget and out of time. If our backers find out you delayed the release date, you might never work again."

The vapid actress stared with wide eyes and for a moment, the director was hopeful, but sheer stubbornness quickly defeated good sense.

"No, I won't do this scene unless you promise me they will fly," she snapped. "Can't you do it afterwards, using 'puters or something?"

"We. Don't. Have. The. Budget!" Kal screeched indignantly, then turned angrily as Tom, the newest technician on set, touched him on the arm.

"What?" he snarled.

Tom gestured toward the ceiling laconically, "The birds are flying, Boss."

Quianna looked up and squealed in delight even as Kal's jaw dropped open in shock and a hint of fear. The blue crystalline birds and fish were indeed soaring and swooping around the room, their fins fluttering and feathers rippling.

"How ...?" Kal began.

"I'm doin' it," Tom explained carelessly. "I'm a trained Force Sensitive. But I gotta leave soon 'cause my son is visiting so we gotta get this scene done now."

"I'm ready!" Quianna yelped, darting for the middle of the room and taking her first position.

Kal decided not to look a gift bantha in the mouth. He quickly got the rest of his actors in place and started the scene.

"_Dear Sentients of Coronet City,"_ Ziwi (Quianna) proclaimed, her eyes wide with passion, "_it is our honor, our pleasure, our delight to be here today as we celebrate our homeworld, our beloved Corellia. We, the Corellian Superbeings ..."_

Kal adjusted his holocams and smiled encouragingly at Quianna Jane. The actress could be a pain, but she came through when she needed to. She was lovely and overly dramatic and this film was going to be a hit.

He knew it is in his corpuscles.

Five minutes later, the scene was finished and it was beautiful. Kal wouldn't have to film it 15 more times, which was a relief. His last scene with Ransome Quiltratz, who played Kiwi, the Land Animal twin, had literally required 23 takes because the fashion designer/actor had repeatedly dropped out of character to complain about the way his cape was swishing. He was never going to hire Quiltratz again for an acting job.

Never.

As Quianna accepted the congratulations of the extras in the scene, Kal watched in awe as the fish and birds swam or fluttered back into position on the decorative podiums. Kal waited respectfully until the (very costly) figurines had settled into place before striding over to Tom.

"Thank you, Tom," he said. "That's quite a talent you have there."

"Thanks," the other man said with a slight smile. Tom was an odd looking man – very tall and bald, though he concealed his scalp with a Dex's Diner hat. Strangely, he always wore gloves and long sleeves and pants, regardless of the heat. Except for his face, his skin was covered.

"Father!" a voice called out from the side of the room.

Kal turned, slightly indignant but mostly grateful. He didn't like random people on set. In fact, he hated it. But Tom had just saved his nerf meat. He knew that.

"Your son, Tom?"

"Yes," the man replied. His diction was suddenly more precise and he straightened up, adding a few more centimeters to his height.

His son was surprisingly short given his sire's height. He was dark blond, dressed in a practical gray outfit, and had startling blue eyes. Kal frowned. In fact, the youth looked rather familiar ...

There was a startled yelp from Quianna Jane, "Prince Luke!?"

The young man winced openly and then managed a courteous smile, "Quianna Jane, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Kal knew his eyes were bugging in shock. Prince Luke Skywalker? Here? And he said that …

He turned his gaze onto his technician Tom, his brain finally cataloging the details.

Very tall.

Force Sensitive

Bald

"Your Highness?" he asked feebly, hoping that he was wrong.

"He's undercover," Prince Luke said cheerfully, "so please just stick with …"

"Tom," Darth Vader ordered, his voice deeper now, his speech refined, his posture shifting from casual to regal. "Luke, it is time for us to go."

"Absolutely," Skywalker replied agreeably. "It was nice meeting you all."

Quianna's luminous eyes drooped with sorrow, "Oh Prince Luke, I was hoping maybe we could get a drink together."

All but the starlet observed the brief expression of repugnance on Skywalker's face, which quickly smoothed away into a courteous smile, "I'm sorry, but we have an appointment. I do look forward to seeing your holovid in the near future."

Kal didn't know what to say, so he just kept his mouth shut.

Darth Vader had been his technician for a few weeks? The director ran a shaky hand across his throat. He hadn't been particularly polite during some of the more stressful scenes. He was lucky to be alive.

/

_Valiance Street_

_Coronet City_

_Corellia_

_5 minutes later_

"Any luck, Father?" Luke asked softly as they moved through a crowded thoroughfare toward the docking bay where their starship awaited.

"Indeed," Vader replied quietly. "The head of the slave trading syndicate is Cressa Dublai."

"The heir to the Dublai fortune?"

"Precisely."

"Aren't the Dublais backing the _Return of the Corellian Super Beings?_"

"Yes. It is an ironic cover; on one hand, the Dublais are sponsoring a film which celebrates an anti-slavery group of superheroes, on the other, they are neck deep in the slave ring running through Ryloth."

"Isn't Cressa Dublai ancient?"

"Yes."

"Should you chop off the head of an 80 year old woman?"

"I sabotaged the hyperbaric chamber of an ancient man, causing him to die in agony."

"Good point, Father."

"Hey, Vader," a new voice commented as a cloaked figure joined them.

"Mara," Vader replied in a disapproving voice. He had more or less come to terms with his son's marriage to the former Emperor's Hand; nevertheless, he maintained a dubious air around her, more for form's sake than anything else.

"So is the Dublai base nearby?" Mara asked with a grin even as she slipped an arm around her husband's waist.

"Indeed. I have the coordinates and it is on nearby Talus. We will be there within a few hours," Vader said with satisfaction. "They will not know what hit them."

"So what undercover role will be after this, Father-in-Law?" the woman asked cheekily. "In the last few years you've been a colo claw fisherman, a pilot – no surprise there, a chef at Dex's Diner, and a holo technician. Anything else you'd like to try?"

"I was thinking about deep sea diving on Manaan, as we have reports of a band of nefarious smugglers operating from that planet," the former Sith stated. "It would fascinating to be so deep, to see those creatures which live far below the surface of the waves. Furthermore, I would relish an opportunity to be surrounded by so much water. "

There was an indignant squawk from his son, "Absolutely not, Father. Your lungs are better, but they aren't that much better."

"I am entirely capable of determining my own limitations, Luke."

"No, you're not. You are as reckless as any Skywalker. You may not go deep sea diving."

"I most certainly will do what I want. Being a holo technician was terribly dull even with the undercover spying to determine the locale of the Dublai ring. I deserve to do something exciting."

"I'll tell Leia," Luke threatened.

Darth Vader shivered slightly.

/

_Organa-Solo suite_

_Coruscant_

_8 hours later_

"Reythan crackers, darling?" Han Solo asked solicitously, extending his hand toward his slightly green wife.

"Thank you," Leia muttered, sinking onto the couch and groaning aloud. She nibbled one cautiously, then called a glass of water to her using the Force. She took a distasteful sip and groaned again.

"Deychin tea?" Solo asked worriedly. "I know the water doesn't taste good."

"Oh Han," his wife moaned, "I am such a wimp."

"You are expecting our baby, Leia. No one blames you for not feeling well."

"I blame me," Leia pouted. "I know, because I've found the records, that our mother Padme kept up a full senatorial schedule while she was pregnant with me and Luke."

"Which just means she didn't get as sick as you are, Leia," Han replied gently. "There is no way you can work a lot right now. The med droid says you'll probably start feeling better soon."

"I hope so."

Leia was 13 weeks along in her pregnancy and she actually thought she was getting a little bit better, but she felt so rotten that it was hard to tell. She nibbled a cracker carefully, wondering if her rebellious stomach would accept the nutrients or have her running for the refresher.

"I just got off the com with Luke," Solo commented.

"And?"

"Vader tracked down the head of a slave trading syndicate to the planet of Talus around the Corellian star. Luke sent me a holo of piled, decapitated heads."

"Is Vader still doing that?" Leia asked in frustration. It had, indeed, become the known calling card of the Corellian Super Beings to leave a pyramid of craniums, but it just seemed so ... unrefined.

"Actually," Han drawled, sitting down and wrapping a careful arm around his wife, "Mara and Luke did most of the decapitating this time apparently. The slavers put up quite a fight. Vader was busy freeing about 200 slaves."

Leia jerked in surprise and then started sobbing quietly, out of happiness and sheer unadulterated hormones. 200 slaves freed!

"The galaxy is still too lawless to dispense with the Super Beings," Solo murmured softly.

"You are right, of course," Leia murmured, her gaze fixed on the city lights of Coruscant outside their windows. The scene was beautiful, with multicolored trails of air vehicles zipping here and there, full of citizens going to work or play. Coruscant was also a work in progress with many still mired in poverty, but there had been massive improvements since she and Luke had taken over the Empire. Especially for non-humans.

She touched her stomach, seeking connection with her own private human within her. The baby was tiny, but Leia could sense the small mind within, the locus of the Force that was their child.

Leia thought it was a girl.

"I love you, Leia." Han said suddenly, pulling her close to him.

"I know," the princess responded with a smile. "I know."

_The End_

_Author Note: Thanks again to those of you who have persevered through this rather funky fic, what with Vader being all serious and moody and then the Super Beings bursting on the scene. Thanks also to my wonderful editor and husband!_


	20. Epilogue

For Brievel, who requested more information on the Silk twins

_The Manarai Restaurant_

_Coruscant_

_3 years later_

"Where is my emerald wine?"

Brilana Silk paused on her way to the kitchen and flashed the pudgy male Human a courteous smile, "I'm sorry, Sir. I'm not your wait person but I can check in the kitchen as soon as I have a moment."

The red fleshy face quivered in anger even as the man grabbed her hard by the arm, "Don't lie to me, girl. What, you're too lazy to do your work? You were just by here 3 minutes ago!"

Brilana took a deep, cleansing breath. It was the end of a long day and she'd been run off her feet, and now she had a belligerent customer to deal with.

"You have my twin sister as your waitperson," she explained courteously. "We're identical."

Clearly, it was time to cut the man's alcoholic intake off, as these words only provoked more anger, "What do you take me for, an idiot?"

"Krall," a blond woman murmured at his side, "calm down, Krall. There is no reason ..."

"By the Maw Cluster, there is every reason!" Krall Tronton yelled. "We pay top prices at this place and then this beesga dares ..."

"Sir, please lower your voice," Brilana interrupted, hanging with difficulty onto her patience. "And can you please let me go?"

"I'll let you go when you stop lying ..." Tronton began, then stopped abruptly as a tall, cloaked, hooded form suddenly hurtled into his personal space, reached out with one prosthetic hand, and grabbed the pudgy throat. A moment later, Krall Tronton, second in command of the Sunblaze Trading Company, found himself lifted and pushed against a nearby wall. The harsh fingers tightened, diminishing his air supply.

"Let him go!" his dimwitted but lovely companion screamed hysterically. "Guards! Someone! Help!"

"Tom!" Brilana said loudly. "Tom! Stop! Stop! This isn't necessary."

"It most definitely is necessary," Tom hissed. Krall's eyes were wide and his nostrils flared as he gazed into the scarred face and blue eyes of his mysterious assailant. "No one treats you that way, Brilana Antilles."

"Your Highness!" Bri yelped in frustration. "Luke and Leia won't like it."

There was a (too) long pause before the hand loosened and Krall dropped to the floor, gasping for breath. His female 'friend' stared wide eyed at the cloaked man, who had pushed his hood back to reveal the familiar bald head and face of Darth Vader, father of Empress Leia Organa Solo.

"Cloaks of Ransome Quiltratz," the woman finally squeaked. "It is you, isn't it? Lord Vader, can I please get your autograph?"

Vader opened his mouth angrily, then checked himself at a warning look from Brilana.

"Certainly," he replied resignedly, reaching out a hand. A genuine paper menu and real ink pen flew into his hands and he promptly signed his name with a flourish before handing it over to the woman.

Brilana took advantage of the distraction to kneel next to Tronton, who looked ready to throw up.

"If I were you," she whispered softly, "I'd sneak out the back entrance quickly. He's obviously in something of a temper."

Krall gulped, his eyes wide with terror, and crawled over to a side door before disappearing.

Brilana rose to her feet and glanced toward the staff entrance. Not surprisingly, her manager was scurrying toward them, his Twi'lek face even more green than usual.

Great. As if this day hadn't been exhausting enough.

/-

_The Antilles Apartment_

_High Towers West_

_Coruscant_

_4 hours late_

"Honestly, Wedge," Brilana murmured with a sigh, "the man is feral sometimes. Feral!"

Wedge wrapped one arm around his wife and kissed her on the head, "If he has to be feral, I'm in favor of it being to defend you. That guy had no right!"

"I was entirely capable of handling it myself," his soulmate huffed indignantly. "I'm a former Emperor's Hand and a secret member of the Corellian Super Beings."

Wedge grabbed a bottle of moof juice from the side table and handed it to his wife before grabbing its companion container. Both Antilles took a few sips of the orange liquid and leaned further into the comfy couch.

"Yeah, I know, Bri," Wedge said seriously. "Thing is, you knew Vader was undercover and you weren't likely to rock the star skiff. I saw the bruise on your arm. That idiot was hurting you."

"I'm used to pain."

"Well, you shouldn't be," Antilles snapped indignantly. "No one should treat you like that."

Bri smiled a little, "That's what Vader said."

"He's right."

The woman sighed and took another drink before leaning further into her husband's warm embrace, "I'm surprised about it, for sure. I mean yeah, he'll go crazy defending the twins and their families, but I'm nobody really."

"You're married to one of my best friends and you are a member of the Corellian Super Beings," Luke Skywalker stated, walking into the room. "You're part of our clan, Bri."

"Kor Vella," Wedge groaned aloud. "What kind of apartment complex is this when any old riff raff can just walk in?"

Luke chuckled even as he collapsed on a nearby seat, "Can I have some moof juice too?"

"Help yourself," Wedge said lazily, then watched with outward boredom and inward awe as a bottle floated from the kitchen into Skywalker's hand. It hadn't been that long since Luke Skywalker had been a floppy haired, naïve farmboy from the back end of nowhere. Now he was brother to the Empress and a bona fide Jedi Knight. Amazing.

"So, the mission?" Bri asked worriedly. "Is it blown?"

"Not at all, Bri," Luke replied reassuringly. "Father says they had 90% of what they needed already and he got the remaining 10% from the owner of the _Manarai_."

Brilana's eyes widened, "Your father ..."

"No, no," Luke said hastily. "No torture. I was with him and made sure he didn't do anything too unpleasant. No, we just asked him a few questions and the owner rolled immediately on the higher ups in charge of the weapons smuggling operation."

The former Hand nodded courteously and managed a weak smile. She wasn't surprised that the owner had given up all he knew. Vader was terrifying and Skywalker was almost worse in his own way. He looked so innocent, so gentle, but then he did crazy things. Just two months ago, he had stopped a rampaging Anoatian pit beast which had escaped its containment habitat at the Coruscanti zoo. The Jedi had lifted the creature in the air until it could be sedated, all before the wondering eyes of more than a thousand residents and at least a hundred holocams.

"So what about my job?" she demanded irritably. "Do I have one anymore after that crazy mess your father made? The manager today didn't know whether to cry or faint or yell at me. Of course, the latter wasn't an option with your father breathing down his neck menacingly."

"No, you don't have a job," Aralina commented, walking through the door with her husband and fellow Corellian Super Being, Vess Kogo. Bri jumped slightly and then shook her head. She and her twin made a point of not being in constant Force contact (since both were married, there were times when privacy was essential) but she must be more tired than she thought to have missed Ara's proximity.

"The _Manarai _is being shut down," Kogo explained even as he wandered into the kitchen, "Ara, honey, do you want some ... er ... moof juice? Blue milk?"

"Blue milk, please!" Ara called to her husband. "Thanks!"

"So yes," she continued briskly, her eyes on her sister. "Turns out a lot of people in upper management at the _Manarai_ were mixed up in this illegal weapons syndicate. For now, the place is being closed while we sort out details."

"Well, bantha poodoo," Bri said sullenly.

"You know you don't have to work," Wedge murmured softly. "I make enough to support us, plus you have your Super Beings income."

"I like serving people," his wife pouted. "I mean, not when they are drunk and attack me, but usually. Ara, you should have cut that guy off way earlier today. He was completely soused!"

"I'm sorry, Bri," her twin responded apologetically. "I'm not really trained for high end serving. Usually I do Ok undercover, but that is a hard job."

"It's all right. As long as the mission wasn't blown ..."

"It wasn't. It was perfect."

"All right, then."

"You'd have had to give up your job in less than a year anyway," Aralina pointed out. "Just think of it as an early vacation."

Wedge sat up a little, "Why would she have to give up her job in less than a year?"

Ara's eyes widened in horror, "Er, oh. I'm sorry ..."

Brilana frowned, "What are you talking about, Ara?"

The blond woman bit her lip and winced openly, "Well, you're pregnant."

"What?" Wedge demanded.

"I am not pregnant!" Bri said indignantly.

"Yes, you are," Ara replied firmly. "You got pregnant like, um, 17 days ago ..."

"Stop!" her twin yelped indignantly. She looked down at her own torso and focused her Force powers on herself and ...

"She's right! Wedge, she's right! I'm ... I'm pregnant! We're going to have a baby!"

The couple threw their arms around each other, cooing loving nothings into one another's ears. Vess Kogo took a deep draught of blue milk and stared at his wife.

"Ara, this is weird. How did you know and she didn't?"

"I think it is a twin thing," Skywalker said with a smile. "I knew Leia was pregnant this last time before she did. And I did exactly the same thing, blurted it out."

"How is your sister?" Kogo asked curiously.

Luke sighed, "Frustrated. She's Ok, but this pregnancy has been hard."

"I hope Bri does better," Aralina said worriedly.

"Well, she probably isn't carrying twins. That's partly why Leia is struggling so much."

/-

_Empress Leia Organa Solo's private receiving room_

_Imperial Palace_

_Coruscant_

"It's going well," Mon Mothma stated with a smile. "Tatooine is close enough to Naboo that exchanging resources is relatively easy. For all that Tatooine is..."

"A blasted planet in the middle of nowhere, full of sand, rough, coarse and irritating ...," Leia commented

"Precisely," Mon continued with a smile. "Your father has expressed his displeasure with Tatooine on many occasions. However, Tatooine does have mineral resources that Naboo needs, and of course Naboo has foodstuffs. It is working, Leia."

"What about Ryloth?" Leia asked, rolling slightly to one side. She was never comfortable these days. Never.

"We're working on incorporating Ryloth into the trade routes more inclusively. Thanks to the Corellian Super Beings, Jabba is long dead and the Hutt clans are profoundly weaker."

"That's good. It's really good."

Mon lifted one elegant eyebrow, "You don't sound happy, Leia. Do you think the trade agreement is unwise because the slave trade is still active in that sector? There are still slavery issues but we are trying to stamp them out, and thanks to the Super Beings, we're making great progress."

"No, no, that's not it," Leia replied quickly.

"Then what is it?"

Leia sighed and closed her eyes, "It's stupid."

"Tell me."

Tears leaked out of her closed eyes and she clenched her fists, "I hate bed rest, Mon. I hate it. I feel so useless, and bored, and stupid, and weak. I hate it! And I just feel terrible, especially today. I've been contracting for weeks but today is especially bad and I'm just so tired of it."

She felt her old friend's hand on her right shoulder and she opened her eyes, ashamed of her tears.

"Go ahead and cry, Leia," Mon said compassionately. "I can't imagine how hard this has been for you, being stuck in bed or the couch for, what has it been?"

"15 standard weeks," Leia said with a groan, calling a hand towel to herself and wiping her eyes. "I mean, I know I'm mostly just a figurehead but still, being stuck here when there is so much going on, so much that needs done, makes me crazy."

"Leia, that is absurd. You are not just a figurehead as Empress. You are vitally important. You are knowledgeable, patient, and highly intelligent. But you are also pregnant with twins and if they come too early — well, if they had come 15 weeks ago …"

"They would have died," Leia replied steadily. "I know. It's just that I feel so useless. And poor Breha is only 2 and a half and she doesn't understand why Mommy can't play with her. Han is a fantastic father, and Luke and Chewie pitch in, and Mara is able to watch her a lot along with their son Owen but that almost makes it worse. I mean, Mara is 23 weeks pregnant and chugging along, watching two little kids, and glowing beautifully. And I look like a wreck."

"You look gorgeous, Leia," a new voice stated firmly from the doorway.

"Han," she replied, managing a watery smile. "I'm just weeping on Mon's shoulder."

"Are sad, Mama?" Breha Organa Solo asked worriedly, running into the room dragging her Jabba the Hutt plushie by the tail.

"I'm fine, Breha darling," Leia replied, reaching out her arm and embracing her daughter. Breha took after her uncle with dark blond hair and blue eyes, though she was tall for her age.

"Babies coming," Breha stated.

"Yes, my dear, probably within two weeks."

The little girl reached out her spare hand and touched her mother's swollen abdomen, her face taking on the otherwordly gaze that always slightly freaked out her father.

"No, Mommy, now."

"Now?" Leia asked with a frown. "Not now, darling. Soon …"

A massive, sudden contraction gripped her uterus and she groaned aloud, her hand suddenly grasping and digging into her husband's arm.

"Or maybe now …" she said in surprise.

"How far along are you specifically, Leia?" Mon asked worriedly.

"35 weeks 6 days. We wanted to make it to 36 weeks…"

"I'd say you are close enough," Mon said with a smile. "Shall I call the med droid?"

Leia gasped in pain, perspiration beading her forehead, "Yes, I think that would be wise."

/—-

_Imperial Holonet Studio_

_Coruscant_

_10 hours later_

"Cray Shifton here. We have a breaking news story. Empress Leia Organa Solo delivered twin boys an hour ago. While information is scant, Palace Staff inform us that both mother and babies are doing well …"

The End

_Author Note: So there are lots of babies. Sue me! :-)_

_Author request: If you are not from the United States (which is where I am), please leave a comment with where you live and something going on in your country right now. This is just for fun. Thx!_


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